Deconstruct
by readerdreamer5625
Summary: Sometimes, the addition of a new piece allows for more solutions, more ways to solve a puzzle. Other times all that happens is that things would break apart. SI-OC fic. GEN.
1. First Deconstruction

**Chapter 1: First Deconstruction.**

_"Most good stories don't begin when the battle has begun, or when it's over. Instead, they usually begin before anything happens – the quiet satisfied sort of tedium that is only there just to show the impact of what would happen."_

Once upon a time, there was a story of a young teenager who dreamed of getting a harem. One thing after another, he died and then got revived, then not-so-subtly forced into a world he never knew before, and then gaining his dream – a harem. There was then another girl with red hair, then another girl with black hair, and then another one with white hair, and then another guy, then a whole student council, and then a bunch of devils, angels, and mythical creatures that included a dragon that was sealed in him.

Well, sealed in a gauntlet _in_ him, but that's another point.

Then there was a bunch of heroes, homicidal people of varying species, more creatures and snakes, and after that, I know little more of what happened. And yeah, God was at sometime in between revealed to be dead.

But it doesn't matter really. Because that story is not _my_ story. That story wasn't the story I wrote, the story I lived, the story I endured my life in.

But that story was related to my story. There were differences of course, but they were few and far in between.

The thing is, the first difference was that I even existed.

* * *

My name is Hyoudou Ryuusei. But it wasn't my first name, even though I was given that name the moment I was born.

I lived and died before. And while my previous name lost its meaning in the process, I still was and would forever be the person I was before.

A bit of a question for the ages, wasn't it? If there was such a thing called an afterlife or rebirth, how would it be? What would you feel if you were reborn as someone totally different? Would your memories stay the same, since when would you be aware of such an event, if ever? Luckily, or not so luckily I suppose, I seemed to be someone to finally get the answer.

In the beginning, when I first 'woke', I was hardly even aware of anything. Like a bit of algae floating on a pond, I was only there. I existed, I barely thought, and I did what I did. Which meant my underdeveloped legs swung back and forth, along with my arms, hitting the wall that surrounded me.

I breathed in water and breathed it out the same way. I didn't feel hunger, didn't feel heat, didn't feel pain.

I didn't even feel like _myself._

But then the days – _weeks, months?_ – passed and slowly I became more… responsive. More awake. More alive. But before I could even manage to do anything, or to even panic at the realization that _I was underwater, _the entire 'room' around me momentarily swelled before it _squeezed_. Being too weak and too unsettled to do anything, all I could only do was to let myself be swept away.

You remember that light at the end of the tunnel kind of thing people always say? Well, honestly it felt like that too, in the end.

The reds and blacks that were all that I had for company on those long _4 months_ that I was probably awake were all flooded away in a flash of white, a tight rhythmic squeeze that kept on repeating, and a strong hand gripping and pulling excruciatingly on the top of my head and I-

_Pop_

-was born, facing the white mask of the doctor who delivered me. Kind man he was, cooing me to help me calm down before he took on a pair of scissors and with a snap, painfully cut off the cord that connected me to my mom.

My dad, the energetic man he would certainly prove to be, immediately took me off the doctor's hands as soon as he was allowed and brought me close to the face of my new mother. Then, tiredly and with sheer exhaustion in her face, she mumbled,

"A strong child, I know he would be. A strong one, like the meteor falling from the sky."

Dad took her hand in a tight grip, pulling the three of us even closer. He then proclaimed,

"Meteor? Then this child's name would Ryuusei! Hyoudou Ryuusei!"

The shock of everything happening finally wore off – the glare of the lights, the pounding of blood in my head, the painful bleeding that was continuing from my fingers that were punctured by the doctor for my blood tests – and that was when I did the first thing I could do, the only thing that I hadn't done so far and causing the nurses to worry.

I cried. Loudly.

And even through it all, somehow I felt a bit of satisfaction as my dad pulled away his abused ears and handed me to the nurse.

* * *

I know I was reborn. In my past life, I was a writer, and as both a writer and a reader I knew all those stories about being given life anew after death, sometimes out of sheer luck and other times under godly influence etcetera etcetera…

_Why_ I was reborn though, I didn't know. Whether I was reborn back in my own world or something else entirely I also didn't know – I wasn't well-versed in history enough to do any judgment, and it wasn't like I could even _read_ after all. For God's sake, previously I spoke and thought in English and wrote and read using Roman letters. Japanese, on the other hand, with its complex system of kanji, hiragana, katakana made my head spin at just the thought of reading.

I didn't care though. All I cared was that I had a _family_.

It's quite simple, isn't it? A group of humans, most likely sharing an amount of genetic resemblance, staying together and interacting with each other in all sorts of ways, from very positive to very negative. The grown adults would support the children, and the children would grow until they themselves become parents and manage their own homes. Something normal, something usual. Not for me though, and several hundred thousand people like me, I suppose.

I was an orphan back then. Previously, I never had parents, never had brothers or sisters, and while some came close to be considered as family, nobody in my previous life was that important to me or vice-versa. Nobody probably mourned for me too long back then, I hope, as in a sense, I never _really_ died. Completely at least. I was still aware of who I used to be, right? At least, if someone mourned that far for me, I hope whatever gave me my second life would tell them I was reborn…

Anyway, while long ago I had already accepted the fact that my previous family was gone – I didn't, couldn't bear to think they weren't, just gone by choice – like all orphans, I still longed to have the warmth of having a family. A mother. A father. A sister or a brother, maybe both! Maybe I was born again, chosen out of sheer luck by some deity out there, just to have a second chance in life to feel those emotions.

I had wanted and dreamt of having family for all of my previous life. And while this second life could be some kind of insane delusion or image my brain made to appease me on the way to death, I still grabbed upon it like a lifeline.

I took on the new name I had and wore it with pride. I was Hyoudou Ryuusei now, both four and twenty two years old, and I lived with the Hyoudou couple. My mom was a terrifying house-mom, and my dad was a reputable businessman. I had _them_, and they had _me_.

And then, they told me I was going to have a brother.

* * *

Four and a half years later after my birth, there I was, swinging alone in the playground set that was beside my kindergarten class. I was waiting for my parents to come, and I had waved goodbye away my few friends in my classroom.

Ah, 'childhood' friends. Such a wonderful thing to feel, very unlike the cold orphanage I had in my previous life. Inwardly though, I felt terribly awkward for that fact, being an actual adult inside a child's body interacting with _real_ children. I was previously used to have to look down to talk to kids. Now, as the short one, I had to look _up._

And certainly, the actions of my kindergarten teacher didn't help much…

"Ryuu-kun, why are you still here?"

Speak of the devil.

I immediately smiled back. "Sensei. Mom and Dad are late, but I promised I'd stay here where I would be safe!"

Slowly, I moved from the swing, smile still in place and slowly stepping away. Don't look away from her eyes, don't look away from her eyes, don't drop the smile. If she notices you trying to escape, she would-

_GLOMP!_

-too late.

The air in my lungs were suddenly seized out of them and my legs lost their beloved touch from the ground as I was tightly hugged by my teacher.

_Swing~ swing~_

"S-sensei~" I said, dizzily as I was swung back and fro as my energetic teacher clung on to me like I was a teddy bear before going through a series of pirouettes. "Make it stop~"

Miura-sensei looked at me in the eye, no doubt finding my expression cute, before letting me go ruefully. Immediately, I took several steps back, ready to escape from another hug-fest should the excitable woman in front of me jump again. What just happened wasn't just a recent thing after all. _Twelve times_. Just _today_, she had done it to me _twelve _times.

"Ryuu-kun," she said with bleary eyes, pouting very much unlike the adult she was supposed to be, "Do you not like me?"

I shook my head. Several times. I didn't _not_ like her. She was a very nice lady, and honestly on the top of my head, I knew dozens of people worse than her that I _still_ either liked/respected. _I_ was the one who simply had an issue with her.

My eyes wandered over her rather humongous chest area before I pulled them away, feeling the painful sting of shame.

A few months of being fully aware of your mother breastfeeding you did that to any person. I couldn't look at anyone of the fairer gender without feeling shameful or bashful. No person would go unscarred through that after all. Unless they were perverts.

Thankfully, that was the moment Dad finally came to pick me up. Teacher distracted with the incoming parent, I immediately ran off to play somewhere a bit farther from her. I still kept close enough to eavesdrop though.

"Ah, Miura-sensei. How was my son today?"

My teacher's face was practically beaming. "Hotaru-san! Ryuu-kun's been so well-mannered today, as always! His friends are even following his lead!" She then leaned her head to the side, sending in my direction a sigh. "He doesn't like my hugs though."

Way to make me feel guilty, sensei!

Dad tilted his own head in confusion. "Huh? We never had any problems with him on that front though. Honestly, he's the touchy-feely sort of kid, always giving his mother and me hugs before he sleeps. No nightmares – just a want to feel us close apparently."

A blush rose up to my ears at that concession. Don't tell her stuff like that, Dad!

Miura-sensei _squealed_. "So cute! That's why I love children! If only we were allowed part-time jobs when I was that stuffy all-girls Academy!"

Alright, that was it. There was no way I was going to let them continue exchanging stories and embarrass me in the process. I may be a child, but unlike most children, I certainly could feel myself practically wilting at the sound of my parents gossiping about me!

(At the back of my mind, I remembered how some of my friends in my previous life complained over and over again about how their mom or dad kept on embarrassing them. Back then, I thought they were being melodramatic. Now, all I felt was sympathy. I clasped my hands in prayer momentarily in my mind – I apologize for not believing you guys.)

I immediately ran back to my dad, hiding behind his knee to prevent any hugging attacks from Miura-sensei. I tugged at his pants. "Dad? Can we go home? I'm getting really tired…"

Dad chuckled, and Miura-sensei cooed at my expression. I knew I looked cute, and I wasn't afraid to use it to get very very _far_ from this place. Kindergarten was nice, if a bit boring, but no to further embarrassment, no thank you!

"We'll be going now then." Dad laughed dryly before pushing me a bit forward. "Say goodbye to your Sensei first!"

" G'bye sensei…" I murmured before waving a hand to her.

Thankfully, Dad and I left immediately, as she then started to look a little crazed. What kind of world was I reborn in, if it was even my own world? To have such interesting and cheerful people in my life…

Dad stopped in his tracks when we were a bit of a distance away from the school. "Sei? Are you alright?"

"D-dad? What are you talking about?"

Dad smiled at me, kneeling to my height before rubbing his callused thumbs over my cheeks. That was when I realized I was crying. Tears of moisture formed themselves without my will out of entire melancholy. And my day had been so happy too…

"Why are you crying, Sei?"

I smiled, not needing to have it forced. I was really happy after all. "Tears of joy Dad! I'm just really happy I have all of you around me!"

"You're such a weird kid, Sei." Dad chuckled before dipping his voice into a conspiratorial murmur, dripping with amusement. "But you know what? Soon, you won't be the only kid in the family!"

My stomach dropped, and then jumped back up with the ferocity of a tiger as I realized- "I'm going to have a brother!?"

"Or a sister, if fate so happens to choose." Dad then added, messing at my hair with his hands. I pouted, but was inwardly very overjoyed. So this is what it felt? To suddenly find out you would have more family? "When the preliminary tests the doctor took come back, I'll be sure to tell you."

That was it. I jumped up and down, really feeling like the kid I was supposed to be. I was going have a brother! Or sister, apparently, but I didn't care – we were going to be the best of friends, and I was going to teach him/her as much as I could, and then I would infect him/her with my hobbies, we would be playing computer games together-

"You're babbling, Sei." Dad looked at me amusedly.

My mouth snapped shut as I blushed, realizing I was actually yelling my thoughts out loud.

Pulling at my hand, though not really needing to as I was _skipping_ on my feet, Dad looked up to the cloudy sky and said, more to himself, "We never really planned having more than one kid, Sei. But you looked like you wanted to have a sibling so much that we couldn't help but just _try_. You were so easy to raise too – what was one kid more?"

I chuckled sheepishly beside him. Maybe I was a bit too vocal about it then… and maybe I also spoiled my parents too much with my birth. After all, as soon as I physically could, I 'developed' from crawling to walking, babbling to talking. My non-existent Japanese from my previous life proved to be worth something after all.

A smirk rose to my face at how Dad kept on pouting when I said 'Mama' first. He kept on doing that too, until I finally took pity on him a week later and said 'Papa'. Of course, before that, I made sure to say a few other words too. Like pointing at his face with a finger and saying the Japanese word for beard after Mom whacked him over the head for not trimming it.

The way Dad's face looked like a mix disappointed pout and baffled shock back then made me laugh.

"Aha!" Dad hollered, regaining my attention as he pointed to the sky. "Look, Sei!"

I looked up, and I smiled with my cheeks in a red blush. Winter was fast approaching after all, and what Dad was pointing at was really beautiful.

"Diamond dust." Dad smiled with me. "Maybe that's a good omen after all."

* * *

A few months later, I was helping Mom around at home.

"Mom! What can I do for you!?" I asked, jumping about filled with liveliness. Being a child sure made you very energetic! "Dad told me to not let you move too much – it can be bad for the baby!"

Mom laughed at my actions. She then sat down instead on the nearest sofa recliner and patted at her side. "Ryuu-kun, I'll rather choose to have you sit with me. Your brother is kind of heavy after all."

Ah, how I love the medical expertise. My parents didn't know about it, but I was fully aware of what the doctor was talking about the moment he called the three of us into his clinic and told us the news.

Unlike what most people knew, there _were_ ways of identifying gender of a baby before it was even born. Cell cultures, collected from the amniotic fluid of the mother, could be kept and studied – just by identifying the sex chromosomes on those cells, the child could be given gender. Though, it was still a little difficult to do for most – separating the cells of the mother from the cultures was a hard thing to do after all. The doctor then told us he found a Y-chromosome.

Simply put, we were told I was going to have a brother. Yes!

"Ummm, Mom?" I tried for the 'bashful and innocent' look. I needed the convincing for this after all! "When would you tell me his… name?"

Mom smiled. "Why, Ryuu-kun. What makes you think we won't choose his name when he's born like what we did with you? We told you that, didn't we?"

They had no need to. I was fully aware when that happened. But I didn't say that.

"But that doesn't mean you two didn't choose one already!" I whined. "I saw you two reading books on names! You _had_ to have chosen already!"

She laughed again. "You're really such a smart boy, Ryuu-kun. But no, we won't tell you, even if we chose already."

"That makes me sure you did!"

Our conversation was promptly stopped when Mom suddenly broke into a series of coughs. "Mom!?"

"Just a small cold, Ryuu-kun." She tried for a smile. "I'll be fine soon before you know it."

One and a half seconds later, I was already running off to find the medicine the doctor gave us.

My statement on the medical expertise had to be re-judged. Mom's 'cold' had been there for a week now, and it wasn't letting up. Instead, it was even getting worse – if only just a bit from how it was when it started – and the doctor still couldn't find anything abnormal. No abnormal white blood cells, no infections, no swelling, no anything, not even a drop or rise in temperature.

Mom just seemed to be getting more and more tired everyday, and there still was that coughing. The doctor said it was probably just go away soon, but I couldn't help but worry. Where were those medicines again?

"Mom?" I asked, looking between the cabinets for the medicine box. "Where did you place the medicine?"

When she didn't reply, I became a bit worried. "Mom?"

Silence. I immediately ran back to the living room. My fears were realized.

There was Mom on the floor, unconscious.

I panicked for all of three minutes before I snapped out of it and called the ambulance. When the damned receiver of the call tried to bluff me for a prank call, I all but yelled his ears out, scolding him and telling him _my-mom's-on-the-floor-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-so-please-JUST-GO-ALREADY!_

The impudent man shut up before asking me our address. I half-babbled it all, half-attempted to make my words understandable as we _didn't_ have the time to have the ambulance lost and thinking it was all a _prank_, because it was my _Mom_ on the floor and I couldn't lose her, couldn't lose anyone, not my Mom, my Dad, my brother-

When the ambulance arrived, I blacked out in sheer relief and fear for my mother's (and soon-to-be brother's) well-being.

* * *

Thankfully, the next day, Mom was stabilized by the good doctor Agasa.

I really loved the medical expertise.

* * *

"Mom, are you sure you are alright?" I couldn't help but say worriedly as I clutched her hands beside her hospital bed. "You don't feel sick or anything? Even a little dizzy or tired?"

"You sound like the doctor, Ryuu-kun." Mom said to me with a smile. "Don't worry! I'm completely alright now!"

_'Yeah, you say that, and that's when Fate strikes back,'_ I couldn't help but think, as the writer's intuition in me struck. But, I shook it away – this was reality, not something out of a manga or anime. Mom and Dad were real people, as real as I was, and so was Miura-sensei, Agasa-san, and though my brother was still unborn, he was real _too_.

Life wouldn't be so cruel to rip apart the family I wished for so long.

"Mom…" I murmured, only holding her hand tightly as the dam in me broke. "I was so worried…"

"I was so scared I was going to lose you, that I was going to lose my brother, that Dad and I would be all alone in our home. I was so _scared _that if I did something wrong, you were going to _die_, and it would be all my fault, and I can't take that, never could-"

I was then suddenly pulled into a tight hug.

"Ryuu-kun…" Mom said, close to my ears. She wept away the tears that was falling from my face again – as Dad had did the previous night, when I woke up with nightmares of the same scenario as I had just told her. "Look at me."

"You. Are. A. Hero." She told me with as much pride as she could fill her words. "Not all kids could've done as well as you did!"

"Listen to your mother, Sei." Dad added, suddenly walking in from the door behind me. He took a moment to kiss Mom before wrapping his arms around the two of us. "You even completely gave the man who received the emergency call a much-needed lecture from what I've heard. You were the one who saved your mother – not I, the one who was at work, or the ambulance driver, who needed to be told everything _after_ a lecture."

"You were the one there, the one who acted beyond what most expected of you, Sei. We couldn't be more proud."

Of course. In their eyes, I was just a precocious four-year old, nearing five coming March. But I knew the truth – I was a twenty-two year old man who almost lost his newfound family. There was nothing special to what I did – the fact I even panicked meant that it wasn't even a smidgen close to being enough.

But I took in the warmth of their hug, clung on dearly to their arms as I wept.

I looked like a four year old child. I felt like a four year old child.

And as a four year old child who loved his parents deeply, I cried my tears until I couldn't do it anymore.

* * *

"Mom? Dad?"

"Yes, son?" They asked, stopping from their way out of the door and into the Caesarian Section. "Is there something you want to ask?"

I smiled as wide as I could.

"Promise me, you two would come back, right?"

Mom and Dad exchanged looks before they returned me their own smiles, Mom's a bit more tiredly than Dad's.

"Of course. And when we do, we would be a family of four!"

I knew then that it was a promise for a lifetime. Mom and Dad would definitely try to make sure that nothing bad would go wrong – the doctor even told me himself that nothing would go wrong. I was but a child in their eyes, and they might have just said it to calm me down, but I still believed in those words with all of my heart.

I believed in them, but-

Not all of them came back.

* * *

_ "Dear! Dear! Agasa-sensei, there's so much blood!"_

_"Sensei! We don't know what's causing this – her heart just started going out of control!"_

_"Prepare the secondary coagulants, get us some blood packets – hurry, or else both her and the baby would die!"_

_"Please…" Her voice sounded for the last time, sore from exhaustion. "Name him Issei. Hyoundou Issei. We promised Ryuu-kun a brother, right?"_

_"Don't let our family get torn apart…"_

* * *

I closed the camcorder in my hands.

Dad still needed to someone to be by his side. Mom too. And my younger brother needed his older brother to be there for him too.

They all needed me to be there with them, even with all of their hearts apart.

I closed my eyes as I tried to block out the memories of my Dad's yells from the video. It was supposed to be happy, right? Dad brought the camera just so that I would know how my brother would be named. Why was it then a record of how it all happened for worse?

And Dad, Dad was _devastated_. He loved us as his sons, but Mom was his _wife_. His other half. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep for days before I finally managed to convince him to join me for dinner.

I cooked too. But my tasteless food only made the empty seat beside Dad feel a lot worse.

I placed back the electronic device back to the bag Dad left for me. It wasn't that it was entirely damning. I was still hopeful – Mom _was_ still alive. She was just… in a coma. People woke up from comas, I knew. Days, weeks, months, even if it took years, I would make sure to keep Mom's last words. After all, there was still a chance that Dad and I, and Issei would-

I turned back to the thick glass window separating me from my brother – still in his incubator.

He looked so fragile, so weak, yet he had been the one to cause all of this to happen.

_Blame him,_ my mind told me, and my hands clenched into fists. _If he hadn't been born, if he hadn't been born-_

But then, the sharp stab of regret stabbed at my being. Then came guilt.

I knew now after all. I realized, the moment his name came of my mother's bloodied lips. Of just what world I was born into, of just whose lives I had shamelessly inserted myself into without meaning. Images of a perverted teenager flashed in my eyes, of red gauntlets, of chess pieces, angels, devils, and dragons.

_'DxD? Wasn't that the anime with way too much fanservice?' My now-unfamiliar voice from my past life echoed in my head. "I know it has a light-novel series, but I've never been interested on reading those. Just watching twelve minutes in the first episode made me change the channel."_

Empty laughter spilled out of my lips. So he was my brother? Hyoudou Issei, the self-proclaimed Harem King, the breasts-obsessed pervert? But I didn't feel disappointed. I just felt too worse for that.

I _knew_ Hyoudou Issei had parents. I knew he had a family, and as far as I knew, his mother _wasn't _supposed to be in a coma.

Why then, would the Hyoudou Issei I know through my very eyes would be like this, weak and brittle, needing the support of a machine just to breathe as a child? Why then, would the Issei I knew, my _brother_, in such a young age be the target of my father's glaring eyes?

_"We never planned to have one more child."_

The reason was simple. I was _born_.

I became the first child of the Hyoudou family, became the reason why my parents even took the decision to have more children. Because of that, I paved the way for disaster, my selfish wish to have siblings tearing apart my family starting with my Mom falling into a coma.

Or even worse, if I hadn't done so, Issei would've never _existed_.

Four years and eight months of happiness I received, in exchange for ruining my family's lives. I was nothing more than an invader, a parasite in plain sight, and yet I wasn't even going to be to be the one blamed for the damage I had unwittingly wrecked. Instead, it would be the innocent child in front of me.

I was an anomaly in this story, the aberration tilting the supposed direction by a single degree. I made waves, and the first thing I did in my life was to tear apart the family I always wanted to have.

I didn't know what to do.

* * *

**AN: Welcome to _Deconstruct_, my first SI-OC fic.**

**This starter chapter has been in the works for a week already, the complete concept behind it already done a month ago. Don't expect updates to come quickly – this is difficult for me to write, as I usually write happy stories. I don't like making people sad after all.**

**But this idea had to be written, had to be shown to the public. This is what it says on the tin: a _deconstruction_. This is an answer to what I've read so far about this fandom, about the concept of SI-OCs and to all the clichés I have seen. This isn't made to slight anyone though, or to bash any characters.**

**This is a fic on Highschool DxD. This is not meant to be nitty or gritty, not meant to be angst or gore. This is meant to be the shadow of humor, and how some things have to be remembered while writing stories. I wrote a 'writer' character to make that point after all.**

**The first deconstruction: the birth of a reincarnated SI-OC.**

**Not all changes would happen through expected ways, and sometimes, just the fact of your existence would make things worse. This is the meaning of the summary.**

**"_Sometimes, the addition of a new piece allows for more solutions, more ways to solve a puzzle. Other times, all that happens is that-_**

**_-things would break apart."_**

**Thank you for reading, and please leave behind reviews before you leave. As for the fans of my other works, please wait for a week at most – I'm also finishing up the next chapters of both SkyWorld and TBaC.**


	2. Second Deconstruction

**Chapter 2: Second Deconstruction.**

_"All writers make characters, and with them, their personalities. But, to be a good writer, you must make the personality believable, and more importantly, three-dimensional. It has to be subject to change, and with it, development."_

I used to be a writer in my past life. And like all writers, I had started by reading what others wrote.

My reading material actually held a lot of variety. I first began with informational books, like magazines and almanacs, branching off later to encyclopedias and public journals. As a child back then, I had a lot of time in my hands, not having any friends to spend it with instead. Then came along real hobbies like video games and cartoons, and then came manga and anime.

And I held a selective eidetic memory.

'Selective', as in, only when it was related to facts, names, concepts, data – and then as my interests grew, came along a greater memory for all kinds of behaviors in stories. Plot 'twists' as you may call them, or as some do, blatant clichés. These had served well later on when I got older and decided to become a writer.

One thing – I only needed to read a story once to know it word for word. 'Know enough stories, you could write your own, as long as you took the care on making it receptive for your audience,' after all.

The thing was, I never actually read Highschool DxD itself. Or went through more than the twelve minutes I saw first of the anime.

What I actually knew of it was due to secondhand sources – that is, through what I used as a starter point for my writing. Fan fiction.

When I first decided to become a writer, I didn't hold much esteem for my own creations. But, after seeing the anonymity available through the internet, I tried expressing my creative abilities there – as a writer in what probably was the easiest way to get readers: writing something about something else _popular_ first.

It didn't exactly end well.

But as an amateur writer, I had still devoted a bit of my time to see the masters. Deciding to read something under a familiar subject, a game I took up for the sake of studying the psychology in it (The main character was rather singular in his simplicity. It made for a good study on how to create one of them), I pressed my mouse icon over the link to the crossover page and-

There it was; the most popular story on the page.

_A Demon Among Devils._

…The story was rather illuminating for me back then. So there was something to the story of DxD beyond breasts and panties? Of course, as my first opinion of it was through the anime and that held just too much fanservice for me. It felt sick in my stomach back when I attempted to rewatch it again afterwards – the fanfic was honestly much better for me.

The way the anime directors had utterly sexualized women disgusted me.

Then, with the newfound interest in fanfiction, I dug through more and more on what was available, eventually branching out to other franchises when they ran out, and soon, DxD was nothing more than a memory of a memory.

And then came along one harem fic too many and I basically stopped reading them, deciding it was best that I published my own stories instead of reading other people's.

Now, I never regretted making those decisions as much as I did in this life.

* * *

"I'm home," I said tiredly, placing my schoolbag beside the door. When nobody came up to meet me, I sighed but went on ahead, taking off my shoes and wearing my indoor slippers.

I muttered glassily to myself, "Welcome back."

It had been another four years since Issei was born. Mom was still not waking up from her coma, and as for Dad… we were having problems with each other. Issei on the other hand…

"Welcome back!" He came up to me finally, looking like a right mess.

"Were you playing around with my stuff again?" I sighed, already knowing the answer the moment my younger brother averted his eyes from my own. "Look, if you wanted to play with my toys, you could've just asked you know?"

Isse then averted his eyes again to his feet, shuffling them sheepishly. "Dad might get angry with you again if you gave them willingly, so… I thought if I took them myself, when Dad asks maybe you could-"

He didn't finish as I pulled him into a tight hug. Tears were forming in my eyes, but I held them back. Crying did nothing for your problems. Or to the problems you brought to somebody else's life.

"Look, Issei." I said, looking at him directly into his wide eyes. "I was the one who had decided to give them to you. I was the one who had decided to give them back when Dad took them away. I was the one who had decided to defend you when he got mad."

…My dad had never moved on past Mom's situation, and how Issei had caused it. Instead, over time, his hatred for my brother got even worse as the years passed and Mom didn't wake up. I had to practically raise Issei myself as Dad tended to outright ignore him – his youngest son – over prioritizing me above all else.

The reason why Issei was even here before me was that he hadn't been entered into kindergarten. Instead, I had to be the one teaching him what little basic Japanese I knew myself, along with general code of conduct. Thankfully, Issei was still on that 'wide-eyed puppy' stage, lacking the general defiance of most kids over those older than them (ignoring how I was technically only four years older than him), making him pretty easy to teach.

It was an understatement that Dad hadn't been pleased that Issei had been taking most of my time though.

"Don't do this for me." I smiled as best as I could. "When you get older, maybe you can return the favor, but this time, let your Nii-san help you."

I was forced to make try and make a choice over my two family members. But they were my _family_. I didn't want any choice of any sort, all I wanted was to have my family as whole as it could so when Mom finally woke up the three of us would be there for her.

"Niichan…" Issei murmured, visibly holding back tears too. Instead he returned the hug as best as he could. "I promise!"

"Now, fix yourself up first. Then if you want, you could help me around the kitchen. What do you want to eat today?"

He grinned at the mention of food. "Tonkatsu! Tonkatsu Ramen!"

I laughed at his enthusiasm. "Hey. That's kind of hard to cook! Tonkatsu maybe, but the ramen part I don't even know where to start!"

"We can experiment." Issei's expression only widened at the thought. "We can try anyways!"

"Hahaha." I deadpanned, ruffling his hair. He preened at the physical contact. "You remember what happened the last time we did that, right? The pot didn't survive the night. Now, get yourself all proper already."

"Hai, Niichan!"

The moment he left, I finally had let my body fall back to the wall behind me with a sigh, sliding down until I was on the floor.

…Dad really didn't like seeing me with Issei. So, in response to my efforts on supporting my sibling, he started taking on extra work – more night shifts, more business trips outside the country. Sometimes, it took weeks for him to even come back now – and those were becoming more and more frequent. I became more and more worried about it for every day that passed that there were only two of us on the dining table.

I peeked into his desk in his and Mom's room, and there I saw them.

A paper detailing how my Dad was going to be reassigned out of the country – and how he had applied for it himself. There were also more of them, preparations for a house of two and a transfer for my Mom to one of the most renowned hospitals in America.

And lastly, papers on applying Issei to the nearest orphanage.

A choked noise came out of my mouth then as the image of Issei passed through my mind, my beloved _brother_, landing in the same kind of situation as I did in my previous life – if only worse, as he would be aware that _his _family had chosen to leave him behind. I, at least, had been allowed to think that maybe my family loved me and wasn't there because something happened to them.

What had I done? Was this karma, playing against me and my family's lives? What had I done in my previous life to merit such a thing?

I knew I was going to have to make a choice. And in the end, it was a choice that wasn't a choice at all.

* * *

In reincarnation stories, often it happened that like me, the reincarnated person would have to learn a totally new culture, and along with it, a new language. This would be no problem, if a bit of difficulty, because in reincarnation you start over as a baby.

It was a scientifically proven fact after all. Children had minds specially wired to learn. Their minds were still unused, still unshaped, and this meant that they had a special capacity to adapt to whatever information that is fed to them. Japanese children don't learn Japanese because they were of Japanese blood – instead, they learn Japanese because it was the first thing they learn.

Another factor was the one that usually taught them was someone important to them. I remember a line that was once said to me:

_"To learn a new language, the best way is to have a lover who speaks that language."_

And while family members were _not_ lovers, they were the closest thing available to most children. This is why most orphans like I was back then tended to not develop well – we didn't have any family to teach us while we were young.

But I was an anomaly to that logic.

I was a child, yes. But I wasn't just any child – I was a full-grown adult who thought in English in a child's body and mind. I didn't have a malleable mind – ever since I was born, my brain was already filled out with information. My neurons were already wired – connections already existed before I even spoke for the first time, for my first line.

And while picking up the spoken language was easy – I spoke and lived in it day and night after all – it wasn't the same for the written language.

Wasn't it ironic, a writer who couldn't write in his own language? An adult who failed in his elementary classes?

I didn't even have the choice of making up for it in English classes. Even more ironically, I noticed that the teacher was even worse than me in the subject. A remarkably spindly man, my English teacher always looked rather unsure whenever he taught us. I never knew how bad the subject of English in Japan was until I experienced it myself.

If I dared to show my ability in it, especially as I was slowly being known to be bad at languages, it would lead to questions. Ones I didn't want to answer – or worse, being entitled as a genius all over again.

Geniuses. Oh how I hated that word, that title that people slapped on you all too easily. If they had only noticed how it's all too easy to be stressed by the name of being a genius, of how people would look up to you and examine all of your mistakes. There were real geniuses, true, but usually even above-average people were given that title.

In my previous life, I _was_ once acclaimed as a genius prodigy. Eidetic memory was after all, something very prized for. So when I grew up to be nothing more than a normal teenager with a gift of memory, people were disappointed. Was it my fault for something that wasn't in my control, I wondered then – I did study as best as I could under all the pressure that was given to me. In time, I grew past those thoughts, but ever since then I bore a hatred for that tendency of the masses.

Being known as a genius wasn't good for me at all. But looking at my borderline-failing grades, I didn't know what to feel anymore.

At least in my past life, I had my above-average grades. Now I didn't have even that.

_If you went to America with Dad_, my mind whispered tauntingly like honeyed poison, _you could have it all over again. You don't have to learn from scratch there. You could start over again as a writer._

But then, that meant leaving Issei. I wasn't going to leave my helpless little brother in my place, all because I was feeling greedy.

I had to tell Dad my decision.

* * *

"WHAT?" Dad yelled, his face morphing into what was now a sadly familiar scowl. Where had my loving father gone, shaped into this by his anger? "You dug through MY desk?"

"I had to, Dad." I said as defiantly as I could, even as my eight-year old body shivered under his glowering expression. I had to be strong. For Issei. For my promise to Mom. "I won't leave Issei behind. What would Mom say when she wakes up? What would happen when she finally opens her eyes and Issei isn't-"

"Don't try to pull your mother into this, Sei!" He glared, and I had to force my eyes to meet his. All my instincts were screaming to look away, _look away,_ but I wasn't about to do that. Not for my family. "I don't even know why you are defending him!"

"He. Is. Family." I said loudly. "_We._ Are. Family. He is your son too, Dad! Issei is my brother, and he is Mom's youngest child! _Your_ youngest child. And we don't leave family behind!"

At that point, I didn't even care for the coming future. All I had wanted was my family to stay together – forget how this world is filled with angels and devils and other otherworldly beings. My family was going to keep _together_. We were going to _stay_ together.

"I DON'T SEE _HIM_ AS MY SON!"

Shatter. Both of us stopped from our argument only to turn and see Issei there, entering from the kitchen with a tray of food from his hands to the floor. My heart broke as I realized just what it was.

My brother had worked for Dad's tonkatsu himself. It had been his effort to make Dad like him more.

"D-Dad?"

He ignored my brother, sending me a look through stormy eyes. There was love, twisted over time, and there was hate. There was regret, and there was heart-breaking betrayal. Dad then looked away.

"I'm leaving. I have another meeting to go to."

It was in the middle of the night. I knew he didn't have a meeting; I checked myself.

He wouldn't return for a month.

So, instead of trying to stop my old man, I swept my frozen brother off his feet and took him up to his – no, _our_ _– _bedroom. I placed my still-small hands over my brother's face – _still an eight year old kid after all _– and looked into his wide eyes. My heart broke again at the sight. They were glassy, without the gleam that I loved to see in them, without the child that I had learned to love in these four years. Knowing the pain my brother felt, I pulled him into a hug again.

That snapped him out of it. And then, slowly, like a mountain disturbed too far, came the avalanche. His body started shaking, slowly and tightly, before his efforts to hold all of his emotions back broke apart and his entire body loosened.

For the first time in three years, I saw Issei cry again.

"Sshhh… ssshhh…" I murmured soothingly, rubbing circles on his back. "You know Dad didn't really mean that right? He was only angry, and like I said, anger makes people do stupid things right?"

"Nii…" He tried to choke out through his tears, only to fail and instead placing his face deep into my shoulders. "Niichan!"

Issei bawled, and suddenly, there I was again as the four year old kid who took his place. There I was again when Mom and Dad were still there, and we were at that hospital, and I was the one crying in their arms.

Like everything, I took away my brother's chance to feel the warmth of parents.

If only I hadn't been born, I thought as I pulled my brother even closer and holding back my own tears. Then Issei would've had a complete family…

"Niichan…" Issei finally managed to say, "Why? Why does Dad hate me? Why was I even born if Mom can't wake up because of me and Dad doesn't want me here?"

That made me only push him away to look at him in the eyes – like what Mom did for me when I was the one who needed the comfort.

"Issei." I tried to put in as much of my love for him in my words, also trying to keep out my own regret from staining them. "Mom loves you; it's just that she can't show it now. Dad does too – he just needs Mom to be there too. And even without all of that, even if Dad decides to leave us, _I _would be here for you. I. Won't. Leave. You. Issei. Remember that, alright? It's a promise!"

Issei stared at me back in the eyes before trying for a smile again, as pained it was.

He pulled me into a hug too. "Alright, I promise!"

* * *

Ever since that night, I studied like a madman.

In what little free time I had between my grade-school classes and taking care of Issei, I started reading as much as I could – from childish fairytales to novels for kids. I completely cut myself off from each of my 'friends' at school; as much as I cherished friendship, I still valued Issei more.

I bought my own study materials from what little I could scrounge up from my allowance – that at least, Dad had given me plenty to take care of myself and Issei. He still paid for the electrical and water bills, though it was becoming even rarer for him to come back home. But as with the little I could do with that, I focused on my current goal.

I memorized and I read, I imaged and I practiced my handwriting. I built my own mnemonics and created study plans in order to learn Japanese as fast as I could.

I was a writer. And like all writers, I start by reading what others wrote. I wasn't about to waste the talent I had refined in my past life – only this time, I had an entire _world_ of books and novels in my mind; some of them existing in this world, but there were many that still or never would exist.

I had an eidetic memory. All I had to do was learn on how to use it properly.

_Copyright infringement goes against my code. But in this world where nobody owns them yet, nobody would ever know._

I knew there were possibilities for an eight-year old like me to gain the attention of a famous publisher – the internet had existed already after all, and there were such thing as online writing competitions. In fact, in that sense, being young was even better; if I managed to get the attention of the right people, readers would flock to peek at a supposed _genius prodigy's_ novels.

Dad was still distant with Issei, and I feared that it would just get worse. Maybe one day, he might decide to even cut _me_ off his support. Then I had to support for myself and Issei. No matter how much it went against my morals and ethics, I wasn't going to let my brother starve if I could do something.

And while I couldn't write in English like I normally would, if I learned Japanese well enough, I could start writing in that language. Then I would only need to be good enough to make an entire novel worth of plot understandable – there were such things as editors after all, and by adding in information like my age into the deal, maybe I could get in lighter than most.

_Not only that, I'm actually smart if I put my mind into it. Japanese is difficult; but not impossible. There were thousands of people out there who learned the language in their advanced age; no sense in making excuses for myself._

"Niichan?" Issei asked, putting a bowl of food beside me one day. "What are you so busy with?"

"Nothing important, Issei." I smiled back. "Just something that I might need in the future."

Along with many other things. I still hadn't made any plans for the supernatural part of the world – even now, I didn't dare enter any holy place or sacred areas. No need to risk having somebody find out the strangeness I no doubt exuded – and if there were ways to quantify the potential of a soul, there could be ways to identify its age right?

What if a devil bumped into me and saw how my mind didn't match my body? Or worse, a fallen angel?

If I died before Issei could learn how to defend himself, I would never forgive myself in whatever afterlife existed. Or if Issei's potential, his Sacred Gear, was discovered too early, I didn't dare think of what could happen.

Not all devils were like Rias Gremory. And even then, I couldn't be sure about her. That was even considering that if he _died_ there would be someone reviving him.

I had to get stronger, and quick.

"Niichan's really great!" Issei said out loud, and my heart swelled. "He really knows about everything!"

I laughed, keeping my ego in check. "Nice to see you're so sure of me, Issei. Now, what's the meal this time?"

He grinned. "Tonkatsu Ramen!"

I made an appropriately baffled expression. "Now, where did you get the ingredients? Or the tools to make them? We don't even have any pork!"

"I made it up as I went! Now eat already, it's going to get coooold, and you don't want to make me disappointed, right?"

"Alright, alright, I'll eat it already." I replied back, comically snapping my hands in prayer. "Get out the medicine kit though, and the telephone. Call the hospital if worse comes to worst. The hospital emergency man's an old friend of mine anyways."

"Hey!"

I dug in slowly to the meal, my apprehension not really needing to be faked – it really wasn't the first time Issei's… experiments failed. I took in a bite, and chewed.

…

"H-how…" My voice sounded off-balanced to even me. "I-It actually tastes pretty good…"

"You really didn't have any faith in me!?"

I stared at him. "You remember what happened to the last pot-"

"Don't talk about it, I remember." Issei pouted, and it made me pinch his cheeks. "Hey, stop that! But I'm learning to cook, right?"

"Yeah." I smiled at him, proudly. It was rare for real four-year olds to learn how to cook after all. "Maybe one day, you'll get better than me at this."

He returned the gesture.

"Though," I turned to tease with a grin, "This doesn't taste like ramen at all. Or tonkatsu. It's more of a vegetable stew…"

"Hey!"

We both laughed – and I took in the moment and recorded it deep in my memory. I cherished these small moments like a man clinging on to a raft while stranded out in the sea. They were what little that kept me sane, what kept me motivated over how Dad was slowly going away and how Mom didn't seem to be waking up soon.

I had a feeling Issei was doing the same.

I knew one thing above all else during these four years after Mom fell comatose though. I had learned to love Issei, my dear brother, for who he was. And while the image of that pervert was still in my mind, I didn't care – I would love him anyways.

I still loved Dad, even if he seemed to not love me as much anymore due to Issei. I still loved Mom, and still held hope that she would wake up one day. And I still held my dream of my family, _together_, after Mom finally woke up and Dad snapped out of his anger and Issei would be there with me and-

_Family._ Such a wonderful thing to have, and no matter what, inside I was still the orphan who wanted one.

Yes, I may had made a mistake, and yes, maybe I wasn't supposed to exist anymore.

But I still held hope. There was still a chance for us to be happy.

And while Issei was soon fated to be pulled into trouble, at least he would have me there by his side too. Maybe not in the battlefield, or maybe with him out of it too, but I knew I was going to be there for him because I made a promise and I don't break promises. Not after what happened the last time somebody I knew broke their promise.

_I wasn't going to leave Issei alone, no matter what._

My name is Hyoudou Ryuusei, meaning 'Meteor'. I love my family, friendship, and recently cooking. I write as a hobby and as a job, and would plan to do so to support my family.

I am Hyoudou Issei's brother. And I wasn't going anywhere from his side.

"Hey, Issei." I smiled, looking out the window. It was winter again – I had to save up again for Issei's coming birthday, right? "Look outside."

He did, and a wide awed expression lifted his lips. "What's that?"

"Diamond dust." I replied, pulling him close. "It means, maybe something good is going to happen after all."

* * *

**AN: Now, that's the second chapter. Don't hope just yet that this early updating stays – somehow, my Muse is still rather functional for this fic.**

**Some people have pointed out the characteristics of a decon-recon switch; yes, that is true. Contrary to the title and summary, while this story is primarily a deconstruction, it would still hold reconstructive elements. **

**Ryuusei is an idealist. A rather smart one, but a stubborn idealist by heart inside this deconstructive story.**

**In a sense, this is a deconstruction as well; most people seem to think deconstructions have to be sad or angsty. I may have said I didn't like making people sad on the previous chapter, but that is only on the subject of writing sad scenes in general (which this chapter still has, as you could see). The ending would actually surprise most, I expect, but that is still a far-off thing now.**

**The Second Deconstruction is actually rather simple: the argument on how SI-OC's learn their new native language.**

**Needless to say, Sei's already detailed the explanation for it above, and in the end as most of you may have realized, the subject is also later reconstructed by him. Now, while it's supposedly not that easy to learn a new language, sometimes all one needs is a bit of motivation and some talent to learn them.**

**And Sei definitely has the motivation to work hard.**

**On to the subject of the fic in general: I already have the outline, and it's rather short. I won't have the same fixed kind of length that I have for the rest of my fics, but as you can see, I would certainly try to make my chapters 'complete' as it were. Timeskips would be rampant for the early chapters, and the last ones would definitely cast ORC.**

**My expectation for this fic is that it would actually end in ten chapters, maybe even less. I just hope that by then, you guys would learn to like Ryuusei as I made him to be – and that people would learn what I'm trying to show with this story.**

**Readerdreamer out. Please leave your reviews.**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Also, _****A Demon Among Devils_ is the work of _Crimson Lord_, but it's likely that you are already aware of it, right?_**


	3. Third Deconstruction

**Chapter 3: Third Deconstruction.**

_"Time is of relative importance: some writers ignore it, the others perpetuate its use. Choose your side; but remember, the latter means you have to know a bit of psychology – age changes everything, and that includes your characters."_

"-is the next best seller on the market. As always, the books of our mystery writer _HR_ is considered to be the best of what is available. Many people theorize that this singular 'writer' is actually a group of people, but we have signed proof and witness accounts from the publishing companies that HR is just a single person. Skeptics still ask whether this 'proof' is all just commercial propaganda-"

I sighed, pressing a button on the remote to turn the television off. Then I turned back to the conversation I was having before the news about me appeared.

"_I apologize for the interruption._" I said with perfect English to my phone. "_I was only listening to the news about my latest book, Mr. Ray._"

"_No worries, HR!_" The jubilant man answered quickly. "_It is good to hear that you are so aware of what's going on at such a young age!"_

"_Please, you're flattering me too much._" I made no attempt to hide my weariness at his words. "_I am but just a writer, not this superhuman you seem to think I am. It is only logical I should at least know what the public thinks of me._"

"_So are you finally going to reveal-"_

_"No._" I instantly cut him off. "_I have no wish to make a mess out of my private life._"

Mr. Ray, being the man that he was, thankfully didn't get offended. "_Very well, Ryuusai-kun. Or am I wrong?"_

I sighed again. "_It is Hyoudou Ryuusei. Not Ryuusai, and your pronunciation is also wrong._"

"_To be so great in two languages at your age, you are really amazing!_"

I couldn't hold back a loud groan. "_Let's change the subject; you still haven't talked about anything important yet, but I can guess. Did you get the manuscript for my next book?_"

"_To get the manuscript of the great HR – and in complete English no less! I'm still in shock when your message filtered through my email this morning!_"

Alright, that was it. "_Let's just talk about the contract already, shall we?_"

…It had been five years since I had published 'my' first book, and that had been when I was nine years old. Contrary to my expectations, I took a year instead of a few months to learn the Japanese language to mastery, but at least that meant that I finally could be capable of writing down for myself.

It had been an uphill battle at every step. Again, unlike my expectations – or rather, worse than what I expected – it had been difficult to get enough attention as a seemingly shy nine-year old from any publishing company. Applying for competitions didn't work – the moment a judge took a look at either me or the age placed on my entry, they laughed and waved me away.

I never felt so scornful before, but a look at the book I was planning on getting published fixed that.

It was only right that it would be difficult. If that was Fate's decision, the devious cosmic power it was, then I would only accept it. It was only righteous karma – I was still stealing the creations of others from my previous world after all.

But even if I had accepted that karma, that didn't mean I was going to give up. My brother was depending on me.

It had been difficult at the start, but entering a publishing company was easy once you got the trick. At first, out of simple spite at the previous company that laughed at me, I chose their lead competitor, cooked a box of lunch, tied it with some cloth, and put on my best 'child' smile and waved at the bodyguard.

A few minutes later, I was led in, and after I asked for "some directions for my parent's office because Dad left Mom's lunch", the moment the security guard left I took a look around for any witnesses and when I confirmed there were none, went up straight to the chief's office.

Inwardly, I thanked my memory and wide variety of reading material once again.

Once upon a time, when I had still been unsure of my job choices, I had been looking into as many subject as I could to make a decision, one of which was of computer programming, and with it, hacking. One book after another, I came upon a book of 'ethical hacking' which was pretty much filled with all the ways to enter guarded locations in order to plant something to hack the computers inside.

One of them was the usage of other's good manners – er, that is, using the goodwill of others to your benefit – which was what I had used. Being a child helped; no person would even think that someone as young as me would lie to a grown man about something like a parent's lunch – that was too complicated for even a prank, especially since I did have the food on me.

Anyways, unlike what the rest of the book said (which pretty much was a bit too techno-savvy for me), I simply dropped a single letter on top of the largest table and left the office. I made sure to wave at the security camera with a smile though.

That would certainly get me noticed the moment someone checked the footage after they read the letter.

I then ate my own lunch, cleaned myself up, put on my smile again and waved a cheerful goodbye at the nice security guard before going directly back home. I wasn't surprised when the next morning my phone rang with a call from one very excited businessman. The letter had contained one very nice teaser chapter of a book after all…

"Nii-san?" Issei interrupted my thoughts with a pout. "Nii-san, were you listening? You have a strange smirk on your face…"

I noticed the expression showing in my face before schooling it back to a simple smile. "No, sorry Issei. I was just thinking about an adventure that I once undertook before."

"Is it about one of your books again?" My brother jumped up with a bright expression. "I want to know!"

"Sorry, writer's secret." I grinned glibly back at him. "Now, what were you saying again?"

Issei was eight years old when he finally noticed how I seemed to be busy with something every night, and the moment I left my computer alone, he being the curious kid he was, took a peek at what I was typing.

Expectedly, moments later he went from 'HR? Who's that?' to his friends at school to full-on 'HR-san is the best!'.

It was all rather amusing to watch, really. But thankfully, I managed to get a solemn oath from him to keep it secret from anyone, though I had to recompense him by giving him a sneak peek to whatever book I had that was to his taste before they even got published. Since the house wasn't swarming with paparazzi and/or Issei was asking me signatures for his friends, he kept the promise even today.

Though, I knew Issei would never do that to me. Breaking promises, that is.

"Like I said, I want to know more about what you published this time!" Issei whined. "Why can't I have a copyyyy?"

"It's in English." I rolled my eyes. "Tell me, what were your latest grades on the subject again?"

"…Can't you just translate it into Japanese? Why are you even writing in such a hard language anyways!"

I grinned at him. "Think of this as an incentive for you to pick up the language."

"Nii-san!"

These days were the best. I and Issei, just hanging out like the brothers we were. And while Issei stopped calling me 'Niichan' – as embarrassingly cute it was – our bond was still as strong, or even stronger, than it was before on that night Dad left after declaring my brother as not his son.

…

I sighed inwardly at the memory. Our relationship with our Dad had only soured over the years.

* * *

True to my expectations, Dad wasn't too overjoyed when I asked him for permission to start up my own bank account.

The company I had contacted had been a bit of the opposite… or rather, they were _very_ excited about me and my potential. Honestly, I had feared a little that my unorthodox way of taking their attention would gain me a bit of apprehension from them, but luckily the man who owned the company had been happy enough to simply wave it off.

Worried, I still asked about the security guard though. I didn't want to be the reason for a good man to lose his job after all.

The next morning, the man got a raise and a short message from me about learning against infiltrative techniques.

Anyway, the reason they had been so excited was that they planned on using my age as a public tool to gain me a lot of attention – and ride on that attention for profit. Of course, they didn't tell me that so directly, but I simply pointed their 'secret' plan out for them and told them otherwise. They ended up looking torn between disappointed and shocked at my words.

They were much less disappointed when I gave them three separate books in the same time though. The three translated books of a very famous mystical trilogy concerning one very powerful evil ring.

I gave an apology to the original owner inside my mind for days afterwards.

Contract signed – which I made sure to be done before I even gave them a _peek_ at my books – and a month later, I was already finding myself holding so much money that I didn't know where to keep it, and I had to finally reveal what I did to the only adult-figure I had in my current life.

…Dad was really enraged when he had heard of it – to the point I couldn't recognize the 'him' I knew anymore.

He had yelled '_why-didn't-you-ask-me-first' _and '_that-Issei's-a-bad-influence-on-you_' and similar subjects so many times that it made my ears ring.

I took an offense at the latter, and made him aware.

I never saw such a terrifying shade of puce before in my life than I had seen then. I almost ran away. From my _father_.

"That's it!" He snarled at me with so much hatred that I shook. "I'm leaving you and your brother!"

…Thankfully, in memory of his and my separate promises to Mom I think, he didn't do it _officially._ He just… left. Left us behind, went away to another country, and after giving a quick signature for my new bank account, left the job of supporting for myself and Issei to me.

I had expected it… but I had never wanted it, never imagined that it would happen so early. I thought he would've been happy for me, even for a bit, so I didn't ask him beforehand. But then I thought-

What did my Dad feel?

_Loneliness._ That was the answer. I knew my Dad – I had been around him for years after all, before that horrific day Issei was born. I knew the man he was, and out of my guilt and growing love for Issei as a brother I had failed to think for years just how much he needed me to be by his side too.

I was an adult inside my fourteen year old body – I understood.

_What would you feel if your son left you for an 'enemy'? What if, in the time that you were gone, he had grown too much, too fast, that you couldn't recognize him anymore?_

At such a young age – Nine! Imagining it from his shoes, in his eyes I was only nine years old, and I was so independent _already_, and what little my Dad felt as a purpose was _gone_ just like that. I may not have given up on Mom, but Dad… but Dad _might_ have, even if I didn't want to believe it. But the proof was staring at me in the eyes.

I hadn't been looking at the glare of an angered man that day. Instead, I was seeing the face of a broken man crumbling into dust.

But still, I had to move on, for the moment. I could trust Dad – I trusted that he wouldn't do anything too drastic. I still… had to clear my eyes of the dust that had entered them, go back home from the shocked restaurant we had met in, talk to Issei, and tell him… that Dad was going on an out of country job. He wasn't going to return for a long, _too _long time.

Dad already didn't talk to Issei. My brother wouldn't notice much that he too wouldn't be talking to me.

But then at least, five-year old Issei didn't have to hide in our room anymore once every few months.

And at least, Dad would have some time to himself. Maybe then, maybe then, the clouds of rage that had colored his mind would fade away. Maybe, over time, he could regain his will and hope that Mom would wake like I did. Then if Mom woke up – no, _when _Mom woke up, we could be a family again. Together.

I could only hope so.

* * *

"So, Issei." I turned away from the stew I was cooking. "How was school?"

The moment Issei had reached an appropriate age, I had him entered the same elementary school I used to be in. He had to have an education to enter Kuoh Academy after all.

…That school was still a subject I had to consider about. But even if I somehow chose to have Issei study somewhere else, it wasn't like I was going to let him go on uneducated, so I still ended up signing him in. Even if it was a little difficult getting the shell-shocked principal to listen to me.

Well, at least he had accepted _HR_'s word that Issei was plenty homeschooled.

"I'm fine!" Issei gave me a bright smile. "It was fun as always!"

But…

"Now I know you're not fine." I frowned, coming closer to poke at something on his face. A welt. I knew enough even without it that my brother was lying – who would be able to other than me after all, being the one who raised him since we were kids? "This is _not_ fine, at all. Tell me, Issei, what happened in school today?"

"Owowowowowow!" Issei yelped, jumping away from my poking finger before giving me a reluctant look. "I'm just fine, really."

I gave him my patented '_don't-kid-your-brother'_ look. Seeing him wince but still not speak, I added on to the pressure by crossing my arms and leaning on the table opposite to him with my best '_Issei-don't-give-me-anymore-grief_'.

I was getting better at this big brother thing. I never knew there were so many ways to translate so many messages through my gestures and expressions before.

He broke at the sight. Success. "I got in a fight."

Immediately, I was up and serious. "Alright, tell me, who were the brats who did it?"

Yes, it was immature for someone like me to act like a thug. But it was _Issei_. Nobody messed with my brother, especially if I could do something about it. Lousy kids? Sure, as long as it was for Issei. Otherwise, I didn't want to get into anything that could potentially endanger the peace I had kept.

Because otherwise… what could I do for Issei? What could I do when it was the supernatural knocking on the door and I couldn't defend him?

"No, no, no!" Issei waved his hands panickedly. "It wasn't their fault! I was the one who threw the first punch!"

"And I know you never would do that unless somebody taunted you." Was my quick reply.

He rubbed at his shoulder – maybe there was something there too – before looking away. "They didn't insult me or anything. I just got really mad at them, and it went all downhill from there."

I came closer, already having ideas as to what caused it. "Issei… tell me. What did they _say_?"

Issei clenched his fists – scratches on them too, how had I not noticed earlier – turning to look at me in the eye.

"Nii-san, how could I not punch them after they insulted you?"

…I had expected that.

As a writer, I had to spend a lot of time writing my books – HR was famous for releasing one every few months after all, on so many subjects like romance and adventure. I wrote in other genres too, and sometimes I had clandestine meetings with a new manager or editor every now and then when my current publishing company couldn't push for another book so early.

I had to have time for writing. That meant stopping my own schooling entirely.

The principal had agreed – the man had turned out to be a die-hard HR fan after all – but as it was, it wasn't that they could just announce that I was no longer a student because I became a writer. The pseudonym _was_ there for a reason, and announcing the fact that Hyoudou Ryuusei was HR to a bunch of talkative kids would invalidate that.

But that meant leaving those very kids to wonder on their own on what happened to me. And since I had left school with a history of bad grades, I wouldn't be surprised if the theories they made weren't that complimentary.

"Let me tell you what, Issei." I smiled at my brother – equally proud and disappointed at what he'd done. "I'll talk to them."

The next day, there I was, visiting my old school again in casual clothes – completely gaining the looks of those inside. Students pointed and whispered, teachers murmured amongst themselves as I walked through the corridors. The principal was sending me one worried smile.

I ignored them all. I had more important matters.

The school was a mix of both elementary and middle school, and having no competitors on the local area meant that it held quite a population of students. In the coming years, I would expect it to go differently – for now, Kuoh was still an all-girls school, and when it finally turned co-ed I equally expected that another middle school would open up close. Probably from Kuoh's management itself.

But for now, it meant that hundreds of students were turning away from their food at lunch, staring at my every step as I interrupted their meals.

And then there they were. The three _idiots_ who dared mess with my brother.

One snickered. "Here comes the _drop-out~_"

I ignored him. So that was just it? Calling me a drop-out because they knew nothing else?

Stupid. I knew these kids were still middle-school students, but it was still all stupid. Not to mention outright foolish; and borderline bullying if what I could see was true. What other reason would have middle-school students their age – my age too, really, but that was only physical – interact with elementary kids around five years below their age?

It meant that my brother wasn't 'fine' after all. He was quite possibly, almost assuredly, being bullied because of the lack of my presence.

Of course, it could be that they _liked_ kids. But that was unlikely, just looking at the three idiots.

Long shaggy hair, unkempt. Their uniforms were mussed, ties undone, the buttons were falling apart, they stood in slouches, and they hung in groups like crows in a corner of the cafeteria. It was even complete with a laughable air of trying to look savage for a bunch of kids. Who were they, wannabe punks that came to school after waking up way too late?

It was almost stereotypical, the way they did everything. I honestly fully expected that they did it all in _purpose_, or that they were also fans of certain animes and/or movies.

Time to act in their language, shall I? When in Rome… act like the Romans.

In a burst of speed, I pulled at the tie of the center person, probably the leader. People gasped at the sudden act of violence, but I momentarily ignored them. I could apologize later.

It wasn't like I was going to harm these kids in the first place.

"What are you doing, you bastard!?" One of his friends yelled at my ear, and I had to send a look at Issei to stop him from punching the person from his very position. The kid didn't know just how painful it would feel for us brothers-

They were just a little misguided after all.

"Sorry, sorry." I gave them a smile, making sure it gave an unsettling tinge. Just enough to put them off-balance. "I just wanted to get your attention, and it seemed appropriate. I apologize if I had bruised your neck. Here, let me fix your uniforms."

People stared as I did as I said, cleaning up their appearances. They themselves looked a bit taken aback by my actions.

Great. Just according to plan.

The moment I finished, I lightened up on my expression, softening it. "I was just going to talk to you three about something. Please, take a seat here with me and Issei. I'd like to have a private conversation about being honorable people."

Just like that, I sat down beside the very table they were using before, with Issei in tow. Even my brother looked confused over my actions, but he evidently decided to just talk about it later, turning a glare at the three standing _gentlemen_ in front of us. They left their seats after I pulled their leader by the tie after all.

In the same time, the people watching us turned away, trying to look inconspicuous. I smiled inwardly – it truly helped being a writer sometimes.

_Psychology of fictional characters and real people are the same. Unless it's their business, they won't force themselves into situations unless they're mentally fundamentally different from most in society. They could stare, yes, but that is easily remedied._

"W-" The leader was about to yell again when he realized the amount of attention over us. He visibly corrected himself. "What is this about? Because if it's about yesterday with Issei, it wasn't our fault."

Issei bristled beside me. I held his hand under the table – he was still just a ten-year old after all. He didn't understand what I aimed for; not that I had expected the same from most adults anyways.

What I wanted wasn't revenge – I wasn't that petty or vengeful. What I _had_ was a chance – a chance to make an example, and weed out a bit of the bad in my brother's environment. What I wanted wasn't revenge… what I wanted was to _civilize_ them.

I was strange, I knew. But that was the fruit of how I grew up in this world.

"Don't worry." I smiled at them, causing them to look away. As expected, they were inexperienced in facing a lack of loathing for their actions. "I hold nothing against you for that. It is partially Issei's fault after all;" – everyone turned to me in surprise –"he didn't have to go so far for me. I just came here to apologize for it."

The leader coughed at that. "U-Ummm, it's alright. We didn't get hurt much anyways."

"But here is my part of the conversation." I then immediately continued, my words heavy with intent. They gulped at the sudden change of atmosphere. "All I just want is for no one to bother with my brother. Or else, they go through me."

He managed to recover at what was a familiar rejoinder from him.

"Is that a threat from _you_?" He made it sound like an insult; wonderful, the kid has sarcasm. "Who are you to say that?"

I only smiled again at the face of it. They were all but teens after all – even if they were physically older than me by a year, they didn't scare me. I was already prepared for worse; because I knew, in the future, I would have to face angels and devils, demons and gods, all to protect my brother. But to answer his question…

"I am a writer. I know a hundred ways to twist a story, and a thousand more on how to manipulate people. I would like you to know that please, and that starting by tomorrow, everyone would know that. That is all I want to say."

Everyone who was listening – which obviously included those who were supposedly 'not watching' – expressed a bit of confusion at my words. That is, except the principal and Issei. The former was giving me a proud look though.

Issei sent a shocked one at my direction. "Nii-san, are you going to-"

"Yes, Issei." I smiled at my brother, sincerely this time. "If it means to make you happy, I would do anything after all."

The lunch bell rang, but nobody moved. Knowing that, I decided to be the first. Picking through my bag, I gave my brother an apple – a green one, of course, Issei loved them – before standing up and moving to leave the cafeteria. I gave the kindly principal a wave, and then turned back to the bewildered trio.

"Hey, listen to the news tomorrow night." I gave them a shark-like grin. "Then think on my words."

The next morning, the public went wild as the mystery writer 'HR' finally revealed his true name. A shy-looking fourteen year old, with a new book to match the headlines. Proudly, he had given the reason to the interviewer why he had chosen to finally go public. He said,

"My family needed a reason to be proud. I wanted to be that."

The book, incidentally, was titled "The Mind of A 'Genius' and Those Around Them". Little did most people know that it was actually the teen's first original book; little did they know that that day, the teen finally had a reason to be proud of himself.

What they knew though, was that after reading the book, even the nosiest of reporters found it difficult to convince themselves to stalk the teenage boy.

It was distasteful to break the private lives of two emotionally wounded boys after all.

* * *

**AN: …This fic has a surprisingly strong hold on me. Maybe my own OC has affected me as well.**

**Now, this chapter has the Third Deconstruction:**

**Character Development. This doesn't always go for the best, and sometimes even positive developments have negative effects. This chapter revealed how their father reacted to Ryuusei – and the next chapter would be Ryuusei's turn.**

**This is Highschool DxD after all.**

**Readerdreamer out. Please, leave reviews and your expectations - it's much easier to write when you know there is someone waiting for your chapters.**


	4. Fourth Deconstruction

**Chapter 4: Fourth Deconstruction.**

_"Power comes in multiple forms, and having the capability in all of them would make your character especially powerful. Take care though, in allowing your character to be strong. You just might have to exhaust yourself in making the enemies stronger."_

My name is Hyoudou Ryuusei, and I am an eighteen year old internationally famous writer. I had written books by the dozens at my age, and though nobody knew about it, I was also a reincarnated thirty six year old man in my body. I, with my brother Issei, lived in a mansion in the middle of Kuoh City, smack-dab in what I knew would be a hotspot for supernatural activity in a few years. Honestly, looking that way, I could even seem a little unworried about what I knew would be a dangerous future.

Yet I, Hyoudou Ryuusei, was staring at a book I found beside my brother's bed with an emotion that could only be called dread.

_Mahou Sensei Negima!_

I stared the book like it was a bomb ticking away before one very destructive explosion.

I knew what it was. I knew what it meant for my brother, of how my wonderful _innocent_ little brother would turn into the following years. Everything starts in something small after all; and while I had found little need for the more… explicit material found out there – apparently, being busy has its perks – the same could not be told about Issei. _Especially_ not Issei.

In the past few years, the culture I had known Japan through in my past life had slowly grown into my current one. Manga. Anime. Light Novels. Honestly, if I was any small time writer, I would've been worried about the sudden drop in the amount of people interested in reading books in Japan. But I had anticipated that – even found myself waiting for it too, as I loved the culture – and I had appropriately released quite a few amounts of books in Europe where I was sure there would be those who would read them.

I had even published 'my' own light novels, though the guilt I still had over 'writing' them had still not passed.

But even with all the developments I had done with my writing, with all the countless genres I have put my hand in, with the _six_ original books I have written for myself, there was still one subject I didn't even dare touch with a ten-foot pole.

The _harem_ genre. (And a bit less fearfully, the 'oppai' genre too.)

But that did nothing to stop what others wrote and published themselves.

I flipped the book correct side up gingerly with the tip of my pen. My eyes widened with fear at what was on the _very _front page.

Large… tracts of land. Everywhere, with the teasing frozen mid-motion of a bounce. In sets of two, in sizes of mostly at least C, there were plenty of them in the front page with the rather worrying shotacon-oriented main character, attached to the wide-eyed depictions of the fairer side of my species. More than twenty pairs of them actually.

I sighed, stumbling down over the large bed I had bought for my brother.

It wasn't that I had a phobia of women and their breasts – instead, I had an utmost respect for the feminine population, having been raised as a gentleman in my previous life by my very much female caretakers in the orphanage. And while I went through an awkward phase, as with the case of the 'breastfeeding' period, over the years I had grown past that.

I was an adult male after all. In time, I had certainly grown past that.

My fear was something else. The image of a certain anime's main character passed through my mind again, causing me to wince. While I knew I would love my brother no matter what, I certainly didn't want him to become a pervert and an enemy of womankind.

_But would you change something so central to what you know?_ My mind argued, like it did more and more recently as the years passed and the thoughts I tried to push away returned with a vengeance. _Hyoudou Issei is meant to be a pervert. If you change that, what would happen with what should?_

"Nii-san?" Issei walked in. "Why are you here in my room?"

"Just cleaning up, Issei." I answered tiredly, taking a bit of solace of my stressful thoughts. "Hey. Want to join me this afternoon in the gym?"

As I had promised to myself years before, as soon as my body reached the age I could safely train myself in, I started devoting a portion of my time in optimizing my body. I took on physical exercises, self-defense classes, and courses on what to do on a variety of situations. Of course, I hid my real purpose with excuse 'research for my future books'.

I wasn't really about to say "Ah, in case an angel or devil decided to pierce my stomach" after all.

"Nah, Nii-san. I'm a little too tired for today. What are you doing this time by the way?"

"After the general exercises? Quite a bit of bench pressing." My abdominals needed a bit of work – being a writer wasn't exactly helpful in that case. "Then, a session with Nishimura-sensei in Karate class."

Issei hummed in response. Upon seeing the manga volume that I had been messing around with, he gave me a grin. "Well, Nii-san, were you interested in my manga? You could've just asked you know, instead of peeking inside my room…"

I rolled my eyes at his teasing. "Like _I_ need to borrow your manga. Personally, I like other genres anyway. Who was it again that gave you the money to buy it, without telling me beforehand too? Not that I would've minded."

"What were you doing with it then?"

I took a glance back at the volume. "…Issei, tell me, are you thinking of buying something perverted?"

Issei, who had been easily lounging over one of his sofas, started spluttering with a bright red blush. "Wait, excuse me!? Were you thinking of that because I bought a harem manga!?"

I gave him as flat as a stare as I could, hiding my own unsettlement behind my façade of the teasing brother. "Everything starts with something. Yeah, sure, you buy mildly pervasive things like this now, and then the hormones kick in and then you would start peeking into girl's locker rooms with a bunch of your friends."

I could only imagine it too easily.

"Nii-san…" Issei looked at me worriedly, reading me as well as I could read him. How troublesome. "What are you going with this?"

I knew I could be the one to prevent the 'pervert' and 'harem-crazy' Issei from ever happening. The logical argument was to _not_ change Issei, so I could manipulate events to my will, but then again, as a secondhand-reader of what I knew of DxD, that argument was a little weak.

I knew what, around four volumes? They were only a few months in the timeline. And while changing the 'pervert' now could change something huge later too, by then, I knew Issei would be more than capable enough to meet the problem. I _would_ also be there to help him with it too.

But Issei… did I really have the right of possibly endangering his future because I didn't want a perverted brother?

What if I made the choice to change him, and when the time came that that choice came back with a vengeance, even my paltry help wasn't enough? What if being a pervert was exactly what my brother needed to survive against his coming enemies?

"I'm just a bit worried." Even as I said what I felt, my smirk didn't fall, along with the teasing tone. But we both knew that they were just masking my real emotions. "My little Issei, being in trouble with girls because he was too perverted…"

What if even if I kept his perversion intact my own existence would once again change things for worse? We already lost Dad, and Mom was still not waking up. That possibility was still there – no matter what I did, I would never be able to know everything my own life changed after all. What if I said the wrong thing to the right person and Issei suffered for it?

What if-

"_Nii-san_!"

I almost jumped at my brother's tone. That was when I realized I was actually looking away from him, looking down on the floor and not meeting his eyes. When I did, I was almost _scared _at what I saw_._

It was a mirror of the eyes I saw when I looked into a mirror. Those weren't the broken eyes of my four-year old brother, they weren't the childishly wise eyes of my ten-year old brother, or the more-mature but still teenage eyes of my fourteen year old brother, nearing the cusp of youth in middle-school.

No, they were the eyes of someone with a goal to strive for, and like in my eyes, they were brimming with the determination to help the one who was the most important person in his life.

I saw myself in those eyes, and my reflection was of an important older brother who was worried for reasons he didn't know.

In his eyes, _I_ needed help.

…Something broke in my mind.

"Nii-san…" Issei started, almost beseechingly. "Are you alright?"

"No…" I ended up murmuring, still lost in my thoughts. "I'm not alright, Issei."

My brother came close to me, placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling me up – since when was I on the floor? – by his other hand. He looked at me, worried but understanding. "_Would_ you be alright, Nii-san?"

I… what was I thinking, trying to make a decision to _manipulate_ my brother? Why was I thinking that I had a choice in how he grew, that he was someone under my control? Why had I been thinking like he was one of my characters, and that his life was but another book I was writing about?

Bile rose to my throat at my thoughts.

It was only too _easy_, to forget that the world I lived in was real and not the story that I had indirectly read once upon a time. That those around me were all real people, and that they were all just as real as I was. Almost egotistically – no, _very_ egotistically, I had started thinking that I had control over everyone I knew, that all of my plans would prove to be true. Or that they would matter.

Like a self-insert character in a story written from the hands of an amateur writer, I had started thinking like I wasn't part of the world I lived in. That instead of being Hyoudou Ryuusei, I was some outsider with a wish to change things – and not essentially for the better.

Wasn't I proved wrong a long time ago? Since when had I began thinking of everyone as characters from a book than the real people they were? Since when had I started considering Issei, my _brother_, as just another character to shape and develop according to my plans?

But… looking at Issei, I realized just how wrong those thoughts were.

He wasn't some kind of two-dimensional character written in the pages of a book or posted on the screen of a computer. No, he was a real person, with real aspirations and dreams, with flaws and good points, with goals. Issei wasn't _Hyoudou Issei, the main character of DxD_. He was Hyoudou Issei, the brother of Hyoudou Ryuusei. He was the teenager who had interests in both books and cooking like me, believed in friends and family, and above all else, trusted his own brother who almost tried using that trust for his own goals.

_He was my brother._ And he was still staring at me with worry.

"Sorry Issei…" I laughed sincerely, making Issei finally relax and lessen his worry. "I guess I'm just a bit stressed. Just forget what I just said."

My brother didn't need me to meddle with his development. I had to trust him, right? I had to trust in the fact that he was _my_ brother, not some kind of character written in a harem series. If someone like the pervert in DxD managed to survive, I could trust that he would _thrive_, right?

Issei smiled, patting me at the shoulder. "Then you should get some rest, Nii-san. I swear, you would tire yourself out at this rate."

I was really kind of feeling tired after that epiphany, so I simply nodded. "Issei, call Nishimura-sensei for me and tell him I'll be absent, alright?"

"I promise." Issei placed a hand over his heart before slapping the other one on my shoulder with a grin. Which hurt my poor shoulder. "Now, get to your room, mister, and sleep already!"

I nodded again, very grateful for my brother.

Little did I know then that the moment I left, the grin on my brother's face fell. Immediately with busy hands, he opened his drawers, took out a few dozen of volumes of the same genre and art style as the forgotten manga on the floor, and then dropped each and every single one of them into a single plastic bag.

The next day, Issei returned them for free to the store he had bought them from with a silent promise to himself to _never_ buy one of them again.

He had always thought that his brother's books were better anyways.

Now, what was Motohama trying to introduce him to again…?

* * *

"Ah, HR-daisensei. It's an honor to have you visit our shrine!"

I sighed at the usual over-exuberant praise, especially at how it felt, considering they were applauding me for books that were really not mine. And while all six of my original books were also best-sellers, I had a feeling that was mostly because of my already famous reputation. Good books or not, if people initially bought them because they liked what I _copied_ from other people, they couldn't be enough for me to be considered a great writer.

"Just call me Ryuusei, please. Or Hyoudou-san if you must."

"Then Hyoudou-sensei it is."

I held back a groan. "Anyways, have you received my request?"

The monk gave me a bright smile. "Of course. Who are we to prevent such an illustrious one as you from knowing more of our culture? To think, for someone of your age to already work on helping the Shinto Shrines to regain power – this could only be a good omen from the gods!"

I sure hope so.

In my previous years, I had been too busy stabilizing my family affairs and taking care of Issei to really apply myself in preparing for the coming future. My brother needed someone to guide him early on, so I had pushed back my data-gathering plans in order to raise him to be a respectable person I knew he would grow into.

And sure, I had finally managed to stabilize our home – which had gone a bit too much, turning our house into a mansion – and Issei was already in his early teens at middle-school. I trusted in him even more now.

Though, he could've had other friends than those two…

Anyways, through what little I knew of this world, I had decided to first study the local mystics – which, concurrently, meant visiting as many shrines as I could to study about Japan's legendary figures and youkai from the professors and monks that studied them. This shrine was actually the sixth shrine I had visited, placed in the middle of Kyoto.

Needless to say, it was a truly interesting experience. I actually ended up getting an idea for another novel.

"So, who's going to be the one teaching me this time?" I asked as politely as I could. "I've been interested in Kyoto's version of the tales…"

Nokoru-san nodded. "Yes, we have heard from our colleagues and friends. Today, we've had someone from a renowned family come to tell you herself on the Japanese belief in Kitsune. Would you like to meet her now?"

I didn't notice his words. I was far too busy leaning on the wall and gasping out choked breaths to notice.

My body suddenly felt heavy. My lungs were screaming at me as air supply became difficult. My head became dizzy and a strange power overcame me the moment I stepped deeper into the shrine. Warning signals flared and rang in my mind, and I was blown over by both urges to _run_ and _come closer_.

This was the first time this happened. What was causing this to happen to me?

Ignoring the worried look of the monk, I tried to recover as fast as I could. There was only one thing that could cause this to happen to me, and it was no doubt _supernatural._ Wasn't it logical? If my soul previously existed in a world without supernatural beings, what would happen if I came face to face with one?

_Kitsune. Kyoto. DxD._

I made a mistake. No doubt, there would only be one kind of being deeper into this place…

"Ara, Nokoru-san? Did our guest finally come?"

A Kitsune herself.

She was a very shapely young woman with sharp golden eyes and blond hair, the air around her seemingly demure and of polite company, but I knew very well that it was all just on the surface or at least just part of who she was. Thankfully, the pressure on me lessened the moment she came into my vision, so I was somehow responsive when she came to bow in front of me.

Never again would I try to meet a supernatural being without preparation.

"Are you alright?" She looked at me worriedly. "We can re-schedule if you wish to."

"Don't worry." I tried for a smile even as I forced my eyes to meet hers – and desperately trying to ignore the foggy formless silhouettes of nine tails behind her back. "Just an attack. I have a feeling I would have them more often, soon, but I can continue. But excuse me, who are you?"

She gave me a welcoming smile. "My name is Yasaka, and I am the leader of the Kyoto-Youkai faction. Our aims are to make sure people don't forget the tales, and having someone like you interested in them is truly reassuring."

I inwardly gulped.

I didn't know of a Youkai faction – never delved into the lore of the light novel series enough to know – but already I knew what this meeting meant.

If there was one common theory usually applied in supernatural genre, it was the one about the power of belief. From small-scale things like changing the minds of many people to absurdly powerful effects like changing reality itself, belief was often used to explain away the abilities of all sorts of creatures and beings from Gods to minor deities and monsters in most of the books I've read in my past life.

Japan had plenty of those creatures, and those all fell into one category. The Youkai. And considering the world I lived in, it wouldn't have surprised me if that theory turned out to be true in this world.

And wasn't it interesting that they didn't even try to hide that fact from the name of their organization? If belief was that important, would secrecy be actually what they practiced? Wouldn't actually try to make as large splashes as they could, gain as much attention as possible?

And what did that mean for me, a person with enough connections to make a lot of people aware? I was a famous writer, and many people read the books I wrote.

_Kitsune are all famous for being tricksters and illusionists._ My mind told me as it tried to count off all the things I knew about them. _They are also known for their control over fox-fire, and many are the tales of them seducing men in order to attain power._

I couldn't trust the woman in front of me. But I couldn't run.

I rose to my feet, recovering as much calm as I could. "Then, let me introduce myself in return. My name is Hyoudou Ryuusei – and thank you for sacrificing your time to help me in my goal."

I knew in terms of power, at least physically, I was just an above-average human.

I had only started training – I wasn't even halfway to black-belt in any of the martial arts classes I took in. My build wasn't built for strength anyway, as I had prioritized speed and agility – things I needed so I could run when I wanted to, when whatever supernatural being after me _let_ me to.

This was because of one thing.

I didn't have a Sacred Gear. Or if I did, as unlikely it was supposedly, I didn't know how to wield it. I didn't know how to _activate_ one in the first place, and no amount of meditation or self-analysis or physical training did the trick. And even if I had a Sacred Gear, it didn't even matter really in this situation.

_The strongest of all Kitsune are the nine-tail foxes._

"Then should we head inside for tea?" She gave me a smile, so seemingly sincere I almost doubted my own senses. "Let us talk inside in private, alright Nozomu-san?"

The monk laughed. "Of course, Yasaka-sama!"

I didn't express my thoughts on how his eyes had glassed over, or of how Yasaka-san's eyes glimmered in gold even under the even lighting inside the shrine. I didn't make a reaction on how I felt a wave of power touch me and him, or of how her smile thinned as it broke over me without doing anything.

But I knew I couldn't lie.

* * *

The thing about liars is that, ironically, they made the best living lie-detectors. This was not only because they knew _how_ to lie, but also because over time, they _had_ to pick up on their detection skills over time or risk being found out themselves.

And in a sense, I was a _very_ good liar.

I had lied the moment I was born. I had hidden my thoughts, prevented others from seeing my agenda, did things that could be seen as immoral as others. And I was – at least, in the eyes of others – a very good writer. I knew how to read ahead of other's reactions, I knew what to act in order to manipulate them into my goals.

I knew how to feel emotions that weren't mine, and I knew how to pick up on the thoughts of others.

But in the end, I was only _human._ In terms of human capabilities, I was very cunning, but compared to supernatural beings that had decades and centuries I was just a child. I was no match for their abilities – in the end, I simply didn't have enough experience around living and breathing people to pick up what they did. Books only reached so far after all, and my rather reclusive life this past few years didn't help on that matter.

Thus, the moment we sat down, I dropped all pretense.

"I didn't know I was worth enough to meet a Kyuubi no Kitsune like you." I commented as I hid my own mouth by drinking the tea she handed me. "But I should've realized; who other than a Kitsune herself to introduce me to their culture?"

To her credit, she didn't even blink an eye. Instead, Yasaka tilted her head to the side. "Excuse me, what are you talking about?"

I paused. What was she after with this? We both knew what was true, and that was that she was a Kitsune, and that I was a supernaturally-aware human.

But who was I to fight against someone better at verbal sparring than me?

"Very well, Yasaka-san." I nodded. Promptly, I slapped the elephant in the room underneath the mat. "Ignore just what I said. Now, would you introduce me to the tales of the Kitsune?"

She gave me a wan smile at that. "Alright. Would you care to listen to the story of Tamamo no Mae?"

"About the Fox Lady of the Court?" I added, from the top of my head using the title I had for her. "That Kitsune who was a courtesan under Emperor Konoe?"

She nodded, giving me an amused smile. "That is a fairly succinct description, and the title matches. Honestly, it seems that you know more than what I expect from someone going on a venture such as this."

I shrugged, trying to deflect the unnerving connotations her words had for me. "I always believed that just reading about these stories is not enough. As a writer, and as a fellow story-teller, I understand on how important it is to listen sometimes from the mouth of others much more aware than me on the matter."

"Wise words for someone so young." She sipped at her tea, her tails whipping softly behind her. "I know my daughter Kunou can learn from your example."

"Tamamo no Mae was a courtesan that all loved. She was the most beautiful and intelligent woman of the land, her body exuding the most wonderful of smells, and her mind much wiser beyond her looks of twenty years. Not only that, she was the kindest woman all people met, and no question posed to her went unanswered. This bore her the love of the Emperor Konoe.

"But one day, the Emperor fell ill of unknown reasons. The wise astrologer Abe-no-Yasuchika then told him, 'That woman by your side is the cause of the sickness; a fox spirit, a temptress. Slay her, or else death would be on your way.' Hearing this, she fled from the court into the countryside, running for her life.

"When the best warriors in the country came for her and cornered her, she begged for her life, her beautiful face covered in tears as she knelt but didn't fight. But the warriors ignored her pleas, shot her down with arrows, and she died in the fields on the Plain of Nasu. Her body turned into the Sessho-seki, the Killing Stone, which haunted and killed those close to it until it was purified by another monk.

"That was the story of Tamamo no Mae."

I kept silent. I didn't know what she was trying to say behind those words again.

Seemingly noticing that, she gave a sigh. "Now tell me what you think. Was Tamamo no Mae evil?"

"I'm not so sure on that matter." I shook my head in negative. "There are too many inconsistencies in the stories – in some, she truly loved the Emperor, the others she was only trying to gain power or kill him. Sometimes, she is outright revolting the moment she is exposed, and other times she is just a woman unfortunate enough to be who she was."

Yasaka-san nodded solemnly at my words. "Yes. But in all the stories, she is always killed in the end by those around her. Who was to say that the stories against her was written as so to cover the mistakes of the writers?"

I paused at that thought, digesting it slowly.

As a writer, I knew how stories were shaped by those who published them. In fact, that was a difficult point in my life; the editors that took care of my manuscripts at first wanted me to change what I wrote to their wishes as there were some matters not really that accepted yet for the public in them. The world I picked those stories from had them published in more accepting times after all.

Of course, I kept my ground on that matter. If I was going to steal, at least, in a warped sense of remuneration, I would publish them as close to the original as possible as to honor the original writer. Soon enough, the editors chose to _not_ enrage the golden goose that laid the eggs and backed off.

Somehow, it also gave me some credit amongst the masses for my 'goal of delving into the darker matters of life'.

But not all writers were like me. Most would instead choose to censure what they didn't like, and add or embellish what they wanted. History even more so: wars were written by the victors, and the ones who lost would be declared as 'evil'. In my past life, Hitler was a man bashed for his racist goals and Einstein was praised for his mind.

Yet, I knew if the war went the other way, Hitler would've been a hero to a _world_ filled with Nazis and Einstein would've been told as a mad scientist with paved the way to the world's most destructive weapon: the nuclear warheads that functioned with his famous equation _E = mc squared._

Who was to say this world didn't work the same way, even for supernatural beings capable of many things?

"Do you know of the two classifications between fox spirits?"

I nodded again. "I know of them: the 'good' spirits, the Kitsune, and the 'evil' ones, the Nogitsune. However, as many story-tellers do not always follow this, most believe that there is only one classification with both the good and evil, the Kitsune. Honestly, looking at it now, it almost feels sad – like an entire race judged for the worst of its population."

Yasaka again gave her acknowledgement to that. "Yes, it is sad. And Tamamo no Mae was the most powerful Kitsune herself – she was beautiful, kind, wise, and helpful. Who knows, what if she hadn't been killed, then maybe Japan would've been a better place."

But _you_ know, I thought to myself. Why would you tell this version of the tale to me then?

Of course, I knew that this could all be just a lie. Maybe it was just some kind of manipulation to help her gain my pity, and with it, my cooperation. But if I didn't trust anyone, who could I trust? I had no one but myself and Issei after all, and the Issei I knew from another world managed to survive by trusting someone else.

I was already trusting devils I didn't even meet yet that way. What was another person more to the list?

"It is an interesting view of the tale." I admitted, giving in. "I must say, I learned much from this talk."

She smiled. "Was that enlightening enough for your writer's mind?"

"Yes." I said simply. "But why, of all stories, why tell me this one? There are far more tales on the foxes, and some of them are just as interesting, if not more so."

"It is because there is something I want to ask." She admitted almost shyly, but again, I wasn't fooled. "What would you feel, living in a world where all those tales are true?"

"If you asked me years before, I would've said 'yes' with anticipation." I deflected easily with a shrug. "In the past, the world seemed far too boring for me, and I would've jumped at the chance of adventure."

Though, the 'time' I was thinking of when I said the words were of in once-upon-a-time world where I was but an orphan, where the family I had now never existed. The world back then seemed so empty…

"How about now?" Yasaka sent back the question just as quickly. "From what you tell, you've changed your mind."

"Yes." I nodded with a fond smile. "My brother was born."

And that was the crux of the matter. Issei was born – and while we had suffered for it – I never felt anymore thankful for my mother. Ever since that fateful day, I had gained a purpose, a will, and that will was what pushed me to become who I was now. And over the years, that will had only gotten stronger.

I wasn't about to leave my brother to join a society filled with Youkai.

"Oh." She murmured, honestly disappointed, but soon enough, she shook her head. "Very well. And I assume he is the reason why you became a writer?" _Why you go so far?_

I simply gave a nod again.

She closed her eyes. "Alright. Is there anything else-"

"But if that world you speak of is real, I would take care to be careful." I cut her off, knowing that it was very likely I would lose my memories otherwise. "If the supernatural world is real, I would like to know how to defend myself. In the Youkai culture, there are both the good and the bad after all. Not to mention, if the creatures in Japan's culture are real, what if for the others, like angels and devils?"

Yasaka opened her eyelids in a questioning manner. "And the information for that defense would help you in your writing?"

"Yes." I nodded, holding back a grin. "In fact, I have this idea for writing a collection set of the Youkai tales, to be published world-wide. Many would know of them if a famous writer like me published them. Plus, I have this idea about a Nurarhiyon's grandchild…"

Slowly, very slowly, she reconsidered on her thoughts, before forming a bright smile.

"Well, we of the Kyoto-Youkai faction would of course be able to secretly get you a copy of the omyouji texts." She said coyly. "Of course, we could also give the tales to you ourselves, but I have a feeling it would be much nicer to let you create your own versions of the tales. And this idea…"

"Features the entire Hyakke Yakkou." I added quickly. "So there would be Yuki-Onna, Oni, Karasu-Tengu, Megami…"

Yasaka nodded again. "And of course, no one would speak of this meeting. Such omnyou texts would be very important to not give to the public after all…"

"Of course." I gave my own agreement. "But still, in that case, we would be capable of contacting each other, right? Like for several secret meetings like this, all in fair exchange?"

She gave me another smile. "Of course, if the supernatural world is real, there would be supernatural means to contact between individuals, but this is all just speculation. There would be no need to look in your mailbox in a month for a package of books, or for a slip of paper to contact us."

"But I'll still publish the book, right?"

She nodded.

I grinned.

Looks like I was going to be able to fight a bit for myself after all.

* * *

**AN: I'm feeling very guilty about ignoring my other fics…**

**Alright, this update would be the last one for quite a while. I'll be busy with Real Life – something has come up, and I won't be able to write. Hopefully, I could at least _read_, but even that's a little out there now.**

**This chapter has the Fourth Deconstruction – focusing on what one of the reviewers likes to call meta (short for metaphysics).**

**The thing is, I always have wondered, if you were really an SI character, would you really behave like you are an outsider? Perhaps _feel_ like an outsider, but in the end, by the fact you lived a life with those around you, wouldn't that make you realize that 'real' or not doesn't really matter?**

**This is doubly so for Ryuusei, who is a writer himself. He knows very well at least a minor understanding of both psychology and philosophy – and being faced with that realization would really shock anybody's world. A conflicting sense of perception; one half that sees the world as real and the other half sees it as fictional.**

**In the end he chose the former – doing so by throwing away his plans on changing his brother for the better the moment he realized that _this was his brother, not some character_. Loyalty among family members is strong in the Hyoudou family – or at least, ignoring the astray father. More on that later.**

**Anyways, it's pretty late as I'm typing this, so I'm posting it now. Leave reviews, point out errors, and tell me your reactions. Next chapter would _finally_ start on the canon timeline, so, wait on that.**

**Readerdreamer sign off.**


	5. Fifth Deconstruction

**Chapter 5: Fifth Deconstruction.**

_"In writing stories, there needs to be plot, to be drama inside its pages. Not everything goes well. Someone dies. A friend gets in trouble. Something gets stolen. And as much as it might hurt those who don't want to harm their characters, it is an indispensable part of writing._

_Of course, it is the aim of your protagonist to prevent that from even happening."_

Inside a room in a mansion, red light filled the darkness. Every nook and cranny lit brightly as a single pentagram glowed powerfully. Smoke slowly rose and formed, orbs of blue energy floated in the air. And then, a single beautiful red-haired woman stepped out of the circle.

"To think someone would summon me." She murmured, looking around. "Very well. In accordance to your wish, I, Rias of the House Gremory, have come to grant it for you.

Tell me, what is your wish?"

I knelt, bowing my head. My voice was desperate as I begged.

"Please, help me save my brother."

* * *

Maybe in the previous years, I had thought, if a bit subconsciously, about being this strong and dependable brother who could defend himself and Issei from both angels and devils alike. Maybe, I had thought that even with all the incoming dangers in our way, maybe I could run away with Issei and prevent anything bad from happening to him.

And then, the Youkai society proved me wrong.

It was one thing to know that the world I currently lived in was supernatural and another to see all the major powers and their territories on paper. Even the Youkai only had a small part of Japan as their powerbase, and compared to them, the three Factions was much, much more powerful and influential.

If I chose to run, where would I go? Somewhere where I don't know what could meet me and Issei?

Then, the books I had received on spiritual defense from the Omnyou texts told me even much more.

Magicians and monks are all weaker than the weakest of Devils or Angels. Shikigami can't measure against them. Seals will only work in the matter of seconds. Spiritual attacks can't scratch them. Only the longest of rituals and ceremonies can defeat a single one of them. This is how it worked for all these years. _Only the supernatural can fight the supernatural._

I… was very frustrated. Before the battle even began, my own tools were telling me I was going to lose. But even that frustration didn't matter against the overwhelming fear as the realization came to pass.

_No matter what, I can't protect Issei. As I am now and for the foreseeable future, I can't protect him._

That was the simple truth of it all. Even with all my preparations, with all my plans, the best I could do was to pull his hand and run when the trouble came. And even if I managed to defeat the first enemies my brother might come to pass, I was certainly incapable of handling whatever came next.

I didn't have any other ways after all. I certainly didn't want to contact the church to get myself trained into an Exorcist – there was definite danger there of my brother being discovered early, and it was likely I would be too slow to get anywhere. I couldn't contact the Youkai society to protect us too – they would ask as to why I would be so worried, and I would then have to answer and-

In the end, it was better the devil you know than the monster hiding in the unknown.

I tapped the paper on my table with my finger thoughtfully. It had been exceedingly easy to get a copy of them, almost _too_ easy, but I believed that was the point. I had been getting pretty desperate when I had received the paper after all.

And desperation attracted devils like honey.

It had been when I was writing down what little I knew about the world I lived in that it happened. On the very first step, my teeth was already gritting then as I realized that in the matter of months, _my brother was going to die_. After all, there it was, on the very first line in my list, showing just how much I _had _to do, but couldn't do.

Raynare asks Issei to a date(?). Issei dies. Issei is revived by Rias Gremory as a Pawn.

Back then in my previous life, it had been easy to accept. Back then when Issei was 'just another character', it would have been almost casual of me to just list the facts down like I was just writing a shopping list. But now, Issei _wasn't_ just another character. He was my brother, and by the first fact, it meant that if I was planning to let things happen on their own way, Issei was going to die by someone he _loved_ and then revived as just a servant of a Devil without a choice in the matter. To let him be traumatized by someone important to him.

_I never saw **him** as my son!_

There was _no way_ I was going to let that happen.

Then the flyer came into my mailbox and the idea sparked in my mind.

I didn't _have _to. If all I wanted was that Issei became capable of defending himself, even by becoming a Devil in the process, I always could skip the unlikable steps. And… that way at least, if my brother didn't even want to become a Devil, I could offer myself instead and protect him. At least that way, my brother would have a choice in the matter.

I placed the paper on the floor.

I didn't know how to activate it, but I could guess. If there were things I had learned through my connections with the Youkai, it was the power of one's will. Of one's emotions. As much as the supernatural liked to flaunt their magic, their balls of flame and spheres of ice and crackling lightning, it was always the humans that showed the strongest of wills, both good and bad.

And if it was for my brother, I was willing to do anything.

I positioned my hand over the paper.

I imagined my brother's smiling face, then imagined how it would be if things would go on their way. I imagined how that broken-hearted look would enter his eyes again, of how his blood would spill over his hands and his body would fall to the ground and his eyes would close as he looked over the face of the murderer that he loved-

And I felt anger. I felt fury. And I tamed that anger and fury, called upon that red-colored image and _called._

I called upon that vengeance, called upon that sheer desperation that I knew would be needed for my wish. I was a weak human being, but I had a brother so important to me that I was willing to do anything for his safety. Even as red lightning crackled beneath my fingertips, even as the paper under my hand vibrated with sheer power I could _taste_, I called upon the power of my emotions and gave my wish.

In a burst of red light and smoke, she came and arrived. And she was as beautiful as she was described to be.

Red tresses adorning her shapely face, she looked at me in the eye with a great degree of interest. Her attractive figure was at the peak of its growth, and I knew many a man would fall for her with just a single look. She was perfectly beautiful, yes, that was what she was.

And then I ignored it promptly.

"To think that someone would summon me." The woman I knew would be a vital part of my brother's future took a look around and then stared into my eyes. I knew what she saw: desperation. "Very well, in accordance to your wish, I, Rias of the Gremory house, have come to grant it for you. Tell me, what is your wish?"

I bowed my head, enough to show how much I was willing to give but also how strong my will to fight for my wish was. "Please, help me save my brother."

She gave me a furtive smile. "And tell me, what is this problem going for your brother, and what are you willing to pay for it?"

I gave her a look. "To save my brother from those willing to use him for his abilities, I would pay anything."

She walked to the side, picking out one of the sofas I had in my workroom before sitting on it.

"And tell me, what are these abilities?" She asked, still looking around interestedly at all the books I kept. "You sound like those would be so important as to summon a high-ranking devil like me."

"He is the wielder of what holds Welsh Dragon Ddraig, the Boosted Gear."

Rias Gremory snapped back at me quickly at that statement.

"WHAT?" She shouted, snapping out of the entire 'mysterious' front she had no doubt kept around those she didn't know. Immediately after though, she noticed and visibly calmed herself down to ask again. "I mean, what makes you so sure that is true?"

"I am as sure as I can get." I simply nodded, ignoring how she looked at me strangely for the statement. After all, so far, all that I saw proved what little I knew about the world I lived in to be true. "I would tell no lies about this matter; my brother is in serious danger because of it."

She stood up carefully, coming closer. She seemed to have fully retained her façade. "Let's say I believe you. Tell me, what do you think I could do to help you in this matter? Even for someone of my position, there is little I could do to protect someone like who you say your brother is."

In return, I walked over to my table and pulled out a box.

It was a chess set.

"You could have him as part of your peerage."

I had a feeling that the resultant look on her face was something _very_ few people ever saw. If anything, at least I had seen it even if this meeting failed. I waited for a few minutes for her to recover before sitting down and opening the box to pass the time.

I managed to set up a chess game before she managed to finally move again.

With wide eyes, she visibly tried to recover her image before giving up with a sigh. Promptly, all the 'mystery' fell off like a discarded shell.

"I have a feeling this conversation won't be any easier as much as I try." Rias finally dropped all attempt to gain a higher position in our verbal wordplay. I smiled coyly inside. "And tell me, why do you want your brother to be in my peerage?"

"You are a Gremory." I answered, gesturing her for a game of chess. "And as a part of a Gremory peerage, there are few who would dare to hunt a piece like my brother."

"This wasn't what I imagined when the magic circle rang like crazy in my room." She groaned, but her face immediately lit up after a moment of realization. "Wait."

"You want _your brother_ to turn into a _Devil_?"

"Why yes." I replied comfortably. "After all, there are ways to turn humans into Devils without killing them, am I right?"

"And what would you pay in return?" She looked at me again, even as I played with the black pawn underneath my fingers. "A Devil's Devil Pieces aren't so easy to take, nor so easy to give. It's one thing to revive a person to gain a piece for one's Peerage, and another when something like this is in play. After all, as you say, trouble would follow your brother if what you say is true."

I grimaced inside. I knew it was a little too much to hope that my choice of preventing Issei's death wouldn't have a cost. But…

"Like I said," I released the pawn from my hold, letting it roll all over the board. It appeared chess wasn't going to be played today anyways. "I would pay _anything_ for my brother's safety."

"Even your body and soul?" She looked at me sharply like I was an artifact under an archeologist's eye. "Would you even give that?"

"_Anything."_

She stood up again, walking even closer than ever before placing a hand under my chin. Her eyes seemed so mesmerizing, so tempting as she gave me a gaze that told a thousand words, some of them I knew little of. But I ignored those too as I exchanged it with my will, with my resolve. I wasn't about to fall for the tricks of a Devil, even if I knew who the woman in front of me was. _Especially_ since I knew who Rias Gremory was.

She smiled, seeming to like what she saw. "I-"

Too bad she didn't finish, as the door to my workroom slammed open and my brother suddenly appeared, his school bag forgotten on the floor beside him and an affronted look in his eyes as he pointed an accusatory finger over… me or Rias, I didn't know. But Issei looked horrorstruck anyways, which always was a bad point in my book.

"_Nii-san, what are you doing!?"_

"I can explain." I said quickly, shaking off her hand as fast as I could.

Issei _stomped_ to the nearest sofa before sending _Rias_ a glare. Honestly, I was a little surprised at how much heat he sent her with one look.

Then he turned to me, with trust in his eyes. "Then do so."

* * *

"So, Nii-san," Issei nodded carefully, his eyes switching back and forth from me and Rias. "You are saying that in this world, there is such a thing as the supernatural?"

Rias sent me a questioning look for that, but I ignored her for the time being. "Yes, in this world, everything the Bible says is real, so are for most myths and most stories you can hear being told."

He nodded again. "And… Rias Gremory, one of the Great Onee-sama's in my school is a Devil?"

I inclined my head to her, and with a sigh, she formed a black-red sphere of pure energy with one hand and showed it to my brother.

I ignored their looks at how I had to recover my breath from what the 'simple' act did to my senses. I had been getting better at it, but I was still a little too sensitive, and that orb of pure _chaos,_ of all things that could only be described as both destruction and emptiness, was still a bit too much for me to just ignore.

"From what I know," I continued as soon as I regained equilibrium, "_all_ of them are Devils. Along with many others in your age group."

Issei didn't fail to notice Rias' look at me this time. "And that I apparently have this… Boosted Gear?"

"You don't believe us?" I asked slowly, feeling a little sad. "I know it's a bit much, but-"

My brother immediately shook his head, cutting me off. He then gave me another of his _I-trust-you_ gazes. "I believe _you_."

I had to cough at that. It was certainly because something came down badly in my throat for some reason, not because I was blushing or anything. I was too old to get _embarrassed_ just because I was praised.

"All I just want to know is how I can use this Boosted Gear_._ It multiplies one's power by two repeatedly… right?"

Issei had a strange expression on his face as he studied his left hand. Anticipation and… longing? I didn't know what was on his mind, but I had a feeling it was something about me. There were very few things that made my brother sit down quietly, and usually they were about me.

I nodded in return. "Gremory-san, would you please explain it to my brother?"

She gave me a considering look before shaking her head. With her hands, she placed my brother's in between them and closed her eyes. She then murmured, "Yes. I feel that he has a Sacred Gear."

She then opened her eyes, her irises looking into my brother's.

"All one has to do to activate their Sacred Gear is to image what they see as the strongest thing or person they know. Then, to materialize it, they have to pull into that power that responds to them, and call it out to the real world. Imagine it _strongly_. This I cannot insist more. Unless you imagine it as strong as you could, you won't be able to pull out your Sacred Gear into existence, especially in a place like this."

Following her instructions, Issei closed his eyes shut.

In mere seconds, in Rias' hands, was a red-gold gauntlet. Segmented, with sharp edges and fingers more like talons, it looked far more like a dragon claw than anything else. And in the center, right above the knuckles, set and adorned was a large emerald jewel which blinked and glowed for a second before it settled into a dark forest green.

Rias looked shocked. I almost had a _heart attack_.

It was- it was simply far, far, _more_ than what I imagined. Many were the times that I tried to visualize, tried to compare what I knew of the power levels in the world I lived in to make an assumption on what I would feel when my brother finally activated his Boosted Gear. At one point, I had decided to use what I sensed from Yasaka-san, the strongest Yokai I knew, and went from there. After multiplying her power by ten, I guessed that it would be around at that point.

I was wrong. I was so _very _wrong.

It was incomparable. It was insurmountable. It was simply _too strong_ for me to calculate. I didn't know how I didn't notice it, but suddenly like an atomic bomb being pulled out of a tiny glass tube, there it was, ringing and filling my mind with its presence. I didn't even have a second before the wave of power swept me away.

If the ball of destruction Rias made earlier was of emptiness and chaos, Issei's Boosted Gear was of fire and pure _power_. There was a smell of earth there, yes, of earthen objects and ashes, but it was predominantly of fire and everything that came with it. If there was something like Hell – which I was pretty sure existed, though different in this world – then what I sensed within the gauntlet would be it.

But even with that, there was something still there that I recognized. Everywhere, from every nook and cranny of what I sensed, was of _Issei_. My brother was still in the gauntlet, and the gauntlet was still _him_. Maybe I hadn't recognized it, what with Issei being somebody who knew me all his life, but with the sheer amount of presence the gauntlet carried, I still could feel my brother.

That, in the end, was what helped me calm down and not run away.

"This…" Rias spoke weakly at first before regaining her composure. "That was a bit fast. Are you sure you haven't awakened this before?"

Issei shook his head with a smile, looking at me with something akin to inner peace. "It was easy for me to imagine the strongest person I knew with him here with me and all."

Again, I coughed because of an incessant _something_ stuck in my throat. Of course, I _didn't_ look away at his words again. Nor did my face suddenly go up in temperature for some reason, no sir.

"I see…" Rias nodded with an understanding smile and a sly look at the corner of her eyes towards me. If anything, I knew she was amused at my reaction. "No doubt that would've helped you."

My brother then turned his gaze back to the gauntlet, studying it and analyzing it with great intensity before… a bright smile lit upon his lips, making me mirror it unconsciously. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, the emerald blinking a bit almost unnoticeably as he did, before murmuring something I couldn't hear.

"_Maybe with this, I can fulfill my promise…"_

"What was that, Issei?" I smiled at him, causing him to flush and look away. "I couldn't hear you."

"It's nothing." Rias answered for him with a sly smile, no doubt that _she_ had heard what Issei said. But if my brother wanted it secret… I shrugged. I could go without knowing.

"But Issei." She then turned to look at him with a sad look on her face. "You know what this means, right?"

Issei shook his head, tilting it questioningly in my direction.

I sighed. "Dragons are one of the strongest beings that exist, and inside the Boosted Gear is one _powerful_ dragon. This is a world filled with those searching for power, Issei. Do the math – I taught you enough, right?"

He nodded carefully, thinking about it a while before – blink. "I would be targeted for this?"

It was lucky that Rias took her hands away by then, or else she would've been cut at how Issei's hand clenched tightly, the gauntlet screeching metallically as his armored fingers clashed with each other. My brother was angry but… for some reason, I knew he wasn't angry for himself. Angry, yes, but for what, I didn't know.

Again, his eyes wandered over my direction before he looked away. With guilt I didn't know where it was from.

Rias nodded again with sincere sadness in her eyes – I didn't know why, but I felt that that very moment, the two of them bonded a little over a similarity I didn't know about.

"That's why your brother summoned me here." She said, holding tightly one of his hands, emphatic of his emotions. "For you to become safe."

"Me, safe?" Issei turned to me with bewildered eyes for a reason I didn't know before he blinked again in realization. Then, he shook his head and turned back to Rias. "Why you, a devil? Why not an angel or something?"

Rias stiffened a bit at the mention of her race's enemy before she shook her head. "That, I do not know. Why not ask your brother?"

Immediately, I was put upon a stage I hadn't planned for. Again, why a devil and not an angel? Why did I immediately go for something known to be evil instead of what I was sure to accept and protect my brother? After all, Sacred Gears were created by God himself, of course the Angels would protect their wielders, right?

I was about to weave a tale when-

"Ah, if it's Nii-san, then I'm alright with it." Issei said simply and let the subject drop, causing my mouth to slightly do the same.

Rias seemed to have noticed that, asking my brother the question I was too shocked to ask. "Why?"

"He had never led me astray before. Why ask differently now?"

I certainly _didn't_ blush, I thought immediately as I burst into another coughing fit.

Again, Rias gave a smile at his words. Shaking her head amusedly, she then continued, "Now, let me tell you about these things called the Devil Pieces…"

* * *

Apparently, the ritual to turn my brother into a Devil was almost hilariously simple. Rias only had to insert her Devil Pieces in his chest one by one until he glowed dark red. Rias had even asked me about _which_ Piece I wanted my brother to be – something I was terribly surprised to hear until I let her say her reasons.

"If you planned this far, then you would know what the best is for him, right?"

For a second, I had thought about it. I knew what each Piece did, and how they worked. I also knew what was available: a Bishop, a Knight, a Rook, and all of her Pawns. In a sense, it was even very accommodating of her to let me have a choice in the matter. And while I knew _Hyoudou Issei is meant to be a Pawn_, I wondered:

_I changed plenty of things already so far. What was one more thing to add?_

But then again, it wasn't entirely my choice, right?

"What Piece do I want?" Issei looked at me with surprise. "Nii-san, why are you asking me this?"

"It only stands to reason that the one who turns into a Devil has a choice as to what specialty he wants to be." I simply said. "Isn't that right, Gremory-san?"

Contrary to my words, she murmured something along the lines of '_before this, the other people were too _dead_ to have a choice' _before she shook her head at me. I had a feeling she was still a little out-of-balance by the entire meeting.

"Ah, very well. It's not like this is an entirely normal situation anyways."

Issei nodded at our words, thinking carefully before he answered, "I want to be a Pawn."

Both of us blinked at his response. Seeing that, he explained, a bright grin on his lips as he did, "See, if I became a Knight, a Rook, or a Bishop, I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else, right? And this Promotion thing… it sounds cool, especially if I become a Queen, as tacky as that sounds."

Again, I blinked before an easy smile formed on my lips.

Looks like my brother really could think and strategize for himself after all. Not that he had to prove it before or anything.

With a nod, Rias came forward and in front of my brother. My brother, thankfully only having spent a millisecond of his eyes wandering a little too low for my tastes, met her in the eyes before closing his own as she slowly placed a single piece right above his sternum. She blinked a bit when nothing happened, but nevertheless she continued to place another.

And another. And another. And another. And another. And another.

She was shaking a bit when she placed her _last_ Pawn piece - of anticipation or fear or surprise, I didn't know – but let out a relieved breath when my brother finally glowed dark red.

And when he did, he glowed _brightly._

Again, another wave of power came over me, but I was more prepared this time. I stood still, through the wave, through the demonic energy, tasting it, memorizing it, and analyzing it before hewing it into my mind as my _brother_. And was it an amazing experience.

There was still fire, but instead of the raging volcanoes and blazing infernos that the Boosted Gear exuded, it was the calmer relaxing feel of the soft fireplace I always felt whenever I read with him. There were also the embers remaining, the weak flames he and I both used whenever we cooked, and then there was the warmth I felt whenever I remembered all the affectionate hugs he gave me when we were younger.

Even today, I still missed that warmth.

And then, there was the feel of flax and wool, of how it covered over me like a protective layer. I felt his care for me, and I felt my care for him, of how all of these sensations were predominantly my brother and not some kind of character in a book I never read before.

And when I opened my eyes, not knowing when I closed them, Issei was already unconscious, sleeping over the lap of one caring Rias.

"It is amazing, the bond between you two." She said to me as soon as I got close. "I felt it too; just how strong his emotions were for you, and I can easily see just how much you return it."

I smiled softly. "We are solitary brothers after all."

"Now, Gremory-san, what do you want for me to pay in return for this aid you have given me?"

She turned to me with wide eyes before a second passed and she-

"Ha… hahahaha!"

-laughed. Like ringing glass bells, she laughed at my words.

For some reason, in face of that laughter, I felt like a child all over again without the entire reincarnation process. I felt like I could _pout_, like I should throw some kind of tantrum at the indignity of my serious words being met with amusement. But I was an _adult_.

I simply set my face into a frown instead of a pout.

"No, it's alright." She said as soon as she calmed down, her expression reconsidering only for a second before settling into a sad smile. "I already have one powerful piece because of you; it's more than enough in exchange for his protection."

I gave a sigh of relief at that.

"_And I have a feeling he would be mad if I also turned his brother into a Devil…"_

"What did you say?" I asked, not hearing her last words. "I believe you were saying something."

She shook her head coyly at the question, her face only showing minute signs of amusement.

Rias then turned to me with soft eyes. "But if you want, in exchange for this, could you call me Rias?"

"That is far too little to show my thankfulness, but as you wish Rias." I said, placing a hand over my heart in a promise.

She carefully stood, moving slowly as to not wake Issei. Though to do so, she placed his head over _my _lap. I let her do as she wanted; I hardly cared how emasculating it may have seemed to others, and only Rias would see anyways.

"Well, I have to go now. Please tell your brother to come over my clubroom tomorrow; he already knows which one, just tell him that."

It was only when she was almost at the very same diagram that summoned her did she turn back and ask, "Wait, I had forgotten to ask. What was your name again?"

"Hyoudou Ryuusei," I answered clearly. "You can call me Ryuusei if you wish."

She looked at me with wide eyes again before chuckling a bit beneath her breath.

"Of course. I should've realized. Who else than a world-famous writer to be the brother of one of the Longinus?"

She shook her head again in amusement.

Rias stepped into the diagram, pausing a bit before adding, "If you really want to help me more, you could visit sometime at Kuoh. Then we can talk about something else."

She vanished before waiting for my reply.

* * *

With her gone, all that was left was me and my brother again, with his head left on my lap.

With a smile on my face, I placed a hand over my brother's head, messing his hair a bit. Issei was a heavy sleeper, so I knew he wouldn't wake up and notice me 'destroying his hard work'. The expression widened as I remembered his very first pout when we were kids and Issei finally chose to fix up his hair into some organized mess of a hairstyle.

I myself had settled down soon enough with a ponytail after an editor's comment over the 'stupidity of the youth' made me go for a more mature look than what my age implied. Issei hadn't been pleased, but after I let him style my bangs similarly to his, he had allowed it to happen.

And so, I continued, messing my brother's hair and inwardly laughing at the helpless groans he made in his sleep, no doubt dreaming about the very experience.

And then I stopped, my expression falling off as I thought of what the situation meant for me and my brother.

I had after all willingly, and with Issei's agreement, decided to let my brother turn into a Devil.

It was a little oxymoronic, for me to easily throw him into the dangerous life I knew would come to him as a Devil inside Rias' Peerage, especially as all I wanted was him to be safe. I knew there were other choices, like dragging my brother into a permanent worldwide trip and using that as a reason to run from all supernatural things I knew existed in the world. I knew Issei would've agreed anyways.

But, there was a fact that I had to accept.

It was the difference between making him safe and making him happy. If I did that, went with that plan, even if Issei would be glad to go along with me in such a trip, it would also mean he would have to cut off several of the few friendships he had. It meant leaving behind our home. It meant leaving behind Mom and what little chance existed of Dad's return.

And there was also another thing to consider: Issei wanted, no, _needed_ to have a place outside of my shadow.

I wasn't an idiot. I knew how difficult it was for him to make friends, especially ever since my name got released into the public as _HR_. People flocked to him, not for him but to know _me_, and Issei didn't want that. He was caring enough to not mention it to me – no doubt to reduce me of stress, my troublesome brother really – but I knew the only reasons he still had those two perverts as his friends was because only they didn't care if Issei had a me as a brother.

Of course, soon enough, because of the two's presence people at some point concluded in their minds that Hyoudou Issei was just a pervert with a coincidentally similar name with me, instead of him being the famed 'brother HR cared for'. In that way, I was thankful to both Matsuda and Motohama. I had no wish for Issei to be just known as somebody's, even if it was me, morality pet.

And then if I suddenly decided to go on a trip and pull along an apologetic Issei with me, this was what would happen.

The two would get terribly envious, and Issei then wouldn't even have the two as friends, quite possibly never would after as we would be then too nomadic to even form friendships that would ever last. People would meet him, talk to him, with hopes of manipulating me through Issei, and all that would happen from that is make him cynical of the world as a whole.

I didn't want that to happen to my brother at any rate.

And… I had another reason. I knew it was a stupid reason, a very illogical one, but nevertheless it was one of my core reasons.

I trusted Issei.

I believed in Issei, knew that he would become strong in face of the coming danger. I knew that Issei would get the hearts of those around him, would become powerful and famous, and I believed that Issei would be better than I ever was.

And I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be the one to help him rise to his potential. Even if it meant putting my own life in danger for him.

And so, that very night, as soon as I placed my brother in his bed – feeling like he was a kid all over again as I did – I took out a piece of paper and wrote. I wrote all of my thoughts, all of my wishes, and all of my dreams and finished it with my signature over my name. I took out a cylinder to contain it safely, and placed it in my safe. My password was the same as always; I knew Issei would realize what it would be if the time ever came he needed to open it.

Thus, on the first night of my brother lived as a Devil, I wrote my dying will for the first time.

* * *

**AN: I'm back after a long rest. I apologize for those who have been waiting.**

**This chapter is considerably a bit more light-hearted than the previous chapters, and would be progressively be more so.**

**Initially, I had planned to let canon events pass (namely, Issei's death by Raynare's hand) but after some deliberation, I realized that _Ryuusei_ wouldn't ever let that happen. Same with last chapter: my initial plotline had Issei remain as a pervert; now, he is still a minor pervert, but considerably less severe about it. This happened because of the two brothers' characterizations – honestly, anything else is not a viable option for them.**

**Next chapters would just show how different Issei is from canon. But for this chapter, it contains the Fifth Deconstruction:**

**_Genre-Savvy._**** As those who are familiar with the concept would know, it is a classification used for a character who is at the very least partially aware of how his world works like and then uses that knowledge for his aims. As for the quote above (which may or maybe related to the deconstruction of each chapter), for a writer a Genre-Savvy character is in a sense an enemy.**

**They plan ahead. They see the patterns. They know how the whims of Fate works. They _think_. And then, unless you want to make them hold the Idiot Ball or something, they would _break_ your story plans unless you took them into account. And Genre-Savvy characters don't really have to be what you initially aimed for when you wrote them…**

**But this is a double-edged sword for them as well as yours.**

**It means that, if something bad had happened, it is likely that they would have seen it coming and _let it pass_. **

**'A friend died? Well, sorry, but at least that means he won't turn against us in the future.'**

**'Why, you're a pacifist? Good for you I'm here then, or else all of those criminals would still be alive and killing out there.'**

**The _Genre-Savvy_ character is interesting, yes, but in a sense that he holds the best chances to land himself in an impossible choice-question. They would be aware, yes, but only enough to affect just a little of what happens. And sometimes, even that is out of their reach.**

**It is never fun to be Genre-Savvy in a Deconstruction, and good old idealist Ryuusei _is_. See you all by the next chapter, but leave reviews and reactions alright? Favs and follows are a plus.**

**Readerdreamer sign off.**


	6. Sixth Deconstruction

**Chapter 6: Sixth Deconstruction.**

_"Plan the ending early. Don't worry too much; it doesn't really have to be an 'end' to everything. Even just a closing statement, just a scene to finish up what you aimed for is enough. An ending is but just a goal's conclusion; it doesn't mean the story can't be continued in time."_

"No," I said, completely unhappy with the idea the red-headed Devil in front of me posed. "No. Just- no. I'm most definitely- no. No. _No_. I'm not doing that."

Rias sighed at me. "Didn't you tell me that you wanted to do more?"

"But this is too much." I argued, though accepting her point. Even with her needing to ask, I still wanted to reimburse her for her aid – even if she gained a lot from our 'transaction' like I did. She was the only reason Issei didn't 'die' after all. "Don't people have to get licenses for this kind of thing? Because I'm telling you; I didn't finish school no matter what people keep saying about me. At most, I just read through what I need for whenever I write something out of my comfort zone."

"We are _very_ influential, and we have our utmost belief that you would do just fine." She turned her eyes at me, not too angered by my reaction. She was more amused than anything really; I recognized her expression from what I usually wore whenever Issei did anything reluctantly for me in the past. "And I have a feeling that even without that, your future colleagues would only be too happy to accept you to really argue on those matters."

"How about those around Issei's age? Wouldn't they be angered about this? Or even worried about this in the future?"

She looked at me with a smile on her face. "Don't act like you don't know what would be their _real_ reaction."

I immediately felt a little wary from those words. "But still…!"

Rias just placed her teacup back on her saucer. She then stood up, walked around me a bit, and looked away as she turned her back towards me. Her body started to tremble. Her voice sounded even sad as she said, "But didn't you want to watch over Issei?"

Goddamnit, if anybody watched us now, we would've made a television drama.

I would've growled, but that would've been petty so I didn't. Even if I was being emotionally blackmailed.

So, in the end, I sighed, giving up. "Fine. But don't look at me if things don't go well because of your request."

I had other reasons for this course of action anyways.

* * *

At first, all I had simply planned to do was watch, guide, and observe.

I knew Issei was smart; he _was_ my brother after all. Even with the admittedly mediocre grades, even with all of his odd quirks and choices in friends, even with his inconsistent levels of maturity, I knew he wasn't an idiot.

I was no fool. I wasn't about to forget that look in his eyes all those years ago, back then when I had still been foolish enough to worry over something as unimportant as perversion. I wasn't about to just write off the fact that the next day, all of the proof and possible cause of said perversion disappeared from the house. Issei _had_ seen through my worries and had acted accordingly.

That was enough for him to gain my trust in his wisdom. If anything, I knew when need comes to be, my brother could get himself out of anything.

But that didn't mean I was just going to be a bystander; no, it only meant my time was going to be devoted in something else. My physical fitness was at its peak, my martial arts lessons had already ended a few months ago, and my _extracurricular_ reading interests had already been done; all I simply needed was to maintain my physical status and that only took a few hours.

That meant I had time to research and find out as much as I could.

Rias had been utterly helpful at that; when I had asked her the following day after my brother turned into a Devil about reading sources, she only took hours before another set of supernatural reading material landed in my lap. I found myself busy reading _Physiology of Devils, An Introduction to Devil Hierarchy, Devils in our Time: Reincarnated and Pure-blood, _and many more.

Again, it was an enlightening experience.

Little did most people care to know, or just subconsciously assumed, that Devil body structures were mostly identical to those of humans.

It was only logical; they bled, they breathed, they had a heart, they had lungs, they had inner organs, they had a brain – all of those things that humans had, they had. The only difference between humans and Devils were, apparently, just everything else. This was what I assumed the Devil Piece did – give everything else in order to become a Devil.

Humans all had minute potentials of magic energy; Devils had demonic energy and the Piece just converted magic energy into demonic energy and then amplified that. Then that demonic energy did everything else: from changing the body structure of a human in order to gain wings, to strengthening each and every cell they had to raise their limits, and sadly, to gaining a weakness to the powers of Light.

That information could be useful sometime, like theoretically, if I ended up fighting a Devil, maybe I could use human physiological weaknesses to combat them…

I also took on more esoteric pieces of knowledge, like all the versions of the tales the Devils themselves had on the subject of the Creation – and apparently, even for a race of long-lived magical beings, they also had their disagreements on the matter. Age apparently still held its toll, and memories only went so long before the details became foggy.

Then, there were the important figures to remember, like the Four Maohs and the Pillars. As soon as I could, I had memorized their names and catalogued everything I knew of them accordingly. I knew information was a resource that needed to be kept.

All of this, I taught to Issei as soon as I learned of it. My brother thankfully listened with rapt attention.

But then, I realized, maybe there were things the books were simply not allowed to tell.

* * *

It was already a week after Issei's first night as a Devil when the realization happened.

"Nii-san, I'm back from Buchou's club!"

I gave him a welcoming smile as I met him from the front porch. "Welcome back home, Issei. How was your day? Did you do a good job for the requests you received today?"

Amusement still filled my mind at the thought.

When my brother came home for the first time and told of the concept, I was more than a little worried. I mean, looking and searching for people of greed, then giving their wishes in exchange for remuneration? What if Issei met someone utterly willing to use him, manipulate him, all in order to follow their goals?

Danger was only one wish away if the person you met was an enemy after all.

But then, my worries were washed away and laughter escaped my lips as my brother told me of his first requests.

An otaku with an interest in debating about manga? An admittedly horrifying, but amusing to hear, old man wearing a Mahou Shoujo costume? A gamer interested in finding someone who could defeat him in his best game?

What were these requests, I thought to myself amusedly. Where were those 'in exchange for your soul' examples when you needed them? It almost seemed that with all the cruel twists my life had gone through the past years, the world still held the sense of humor I once had correlated to the subject of DxD.

Though, sometimes the world liked to play its jokes upon me as well…

"Nii-san, Nii-san!" Issei came back home excitedly one day, with a bright smile on his face and a handbag hung under one arm. "You won't believe what kind of request Buchou gave me to do this afternoon!"

I only pointed a finger at the wall clock. "It's 9 pm, and you're terribly late. I already ate without you."

Issei ignored my complaints as he skipped past me as soon as he took off his shoes. He grinned at my resultant deadpan stare.

"Guess what?" He said as he wore that frustratingly smug look on his face. "I officially joined a fan-club!"

At the sound of those words, my heart stopped for a moment in abject horror as I fell back terrified of what my brother implied. My face was utterly pale and I could feel my eyes widening impossibly against my will as I whispered my weak reaction.

"No…" I stared at my brother, almost awed at the sheer blow of his action. "You wouldn't have ever dared…"

I had taught my brother too well in the subject of banter and comedic bickering.

His response was a sly, almost reverential, slow motion of his fingers as he took out a single card from the front pocket of his school uniform. Expertly, he juggled it first between his fingertips and hands before throwing it straight up – only to land perfectly face up in front of me. My pale face only went whiter as I let my eyes wander upon it for only a moment.

Yes. He had dared.

_Hyoudou Issei. 4,999,999th member of the Official Japan's H.R. Fanclub._

"I would've waited until I could've gotten the 5 millionth, but the club president was simply too overjoyed to let me wait." Issei continued, still wearing that smug smile. I would've wiped it off with a comeback snark, had I not been still too stunned to do so. "And guess what! For their wish, all of them collected their books and had me do what each and every single fan _except me_ had wished, but failed to achieve all these years."

I winced at his words as my eyes wandered back to the bag he carried – which also had a symbol on the side that specifically spoke of a connection to a portal. Almost certainly, I knew, that the moment that quintessential bag of horrors opened, I would be literally flooded to my waist by a job that I somehow managed to evade all these years.

Again, I fully regretted teaching him all those tricks on controlling his surprisingly meager demonic energy.

"All those books that you left behind when you escaped from all those meet-and-greet conventions, _sign_ them!"

I forcefully turned my eyes away from the bag I knew meant several few hours of the sensations of painful hands – in order to look at my brother in the face and tell him: _No, I won't! If I managed to escape them all these years, what makes you think you would succeed!_

And oh, how I failed.

Issei looked at me with those eyes, those watery eyes of his that he somehow retained from his childhood days, with that utterly childish pout that made me immediately imagine a pair of puppy ears over his head. And then, he looked so _cute_, like the kid I once knew, the kid that I still doted over. But I didn't fall; no, I would never fall for such a cliché strategy that I spent my entire second childhood resisting-

A tear fell from Issei's eyes.

And just like that, like wet paper, I folded and crumpled, already giving up the fight and accepting the fact that after dinner, all my thankfully-ambidextrous hands would be doing would the repetitive motion of the modern author's fear.

Oh, how I hated the signing culture that was held by just about every fandom.

* * *

"Oh, Issei, other than _this_," I asked, pointedly pressing my pen on the book I was signing for emphasis, "What did you do today to make you so late? I know _that club's_ schedule – no matter how sudden and important your admittance to it was, I know that it wouldn't have taken you until at 9 pm to come home."

There were so many benefits on knowing just where your most obsessed _appreciators_ were at anytime after all.

Issei raised his head cheerfully from the meal I left for him. Too bad he didn't swallow first.

"Aigh gufughe-"

I raised a hand, giving him a short glare. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Issei."

A little embarrassed, my brother looked away for a second to drink from his glass and force down his meal before he turned back to me again with a bright smile.

"Buchou brought me to one of the jobs for the entire club!"

That alone made me shift my entire attention to him in an instant, causing him to jump slightly. "What again?"

Issei looked a little cowed by my expression, so I forcibly relaxed my facial muscles a bit so he could breathe. After a few seconds, he gave me a weaker grin before answering.

"You remember what you taught me about Stray Devils?" I nodded in confirmation. "Buchou got a message from her own Nii-san to handle a Stray Devil in the area, and I got to tag along! There were so many cool things that happened, like Akeno-san – the Queen I told you about – she used lightning!"

He paused for a second. Was he… blushing?

"A-And then, Koneko-chan! Buchou told me that she was the Rook, and that she was strong, and boy, was she! She threw huge rocks left and right, and she blocked this _huge_ blow that was four times her size!" He waved his arms in emphasis, trying to gesture something very large. "And then Kiba."

Issei frowned a bit at the name of who I knew was the only boy he knew in the group so far. That expression was definitely dislike. I wondered why. I knew Issei wasn't like how he was in the 'canon' DxD world I knew; he wasn't the type to get envious over popularity.

If anything, I knew he would've pitied the boy. I knew I would.

"Kiba was really fast. Like you-can't-see-him fast. Apparently, he's a Knight, and that like the knights in the stories you write, he also uses swords. Two of them." He shook his head for a while before a bright grin lit on his face again. "And then, Buchou! Buchou used that orb of hers - you know, what she showed us when she turned me into a Devil? – and she destroyed the Stray Devil in one blast, like _krreeeeeeBANG!_"

He made a shooting motion with one arm before flamboyantly flicking his hair, trying to emulate Rias. Story finished, he then turned back to me, just standing there with a bright smile on his face, and I could just feel the awe flowing from him in waves. Awe of power. Awe of strength, of physical capability.

And suddenly, my hands started to feel heavy over the books I had to sign.

"Nii-san, are you alright?" Issei came closer to me, looking a little worried as I didn't speak. "Did I do something wrong?"

I immediately shook my head, waving a hand at his direction with a smirk on my face. "No, no, it's nothing, Issei. I was just busy signing these books over here- were you telling me something again? I lost interest over your words, with all these quick and flappy movements of yours…"

I waved my arms for emphasis, copying his actions, causing him to redden in slight embarrassment and frustration. But the concern stayed on his face.

Really, my brother was problematic sometimes. Why was it that he could read me so easily?

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Really." I said with a smile. "Just go back to your food – we don't want it to go to waste, do we?"

At my words, Issei yelped as he immediately ran back to his seat, returning to his meal and resultant gorging on breaded fish and gloriously seasoned vegetables. Never before did I feel so thankful about my own cooking.

I turned back to my signing, a little grateful to have something repetitive to distract myself on.

…

I made a mistake. No, I _forgot_ to take something into account, of a part of my brother that would've irreversibly changed with the process that turned him from human to devil. And while I knew he needed that change – _required _to have it, all in order to survive the coming times, I still felt a little dread forcing itself from the bottom of my heart.

Issei, my dear brother, had just seen _murder – _the death of a thinking, rational being in the hands of another – and after that, instead of thinking about it, trying to rationalize it, he did what?

He went along with a bright smile on his face. He didn't even think about the incident, unlike me who had to go through a heavy series of rationalizations to even accept the need for murder.

…I knew what Stray Devils were. I was the one who read it up and told it to Issei after all. I knew that they were dangerous beings, powerful Devils that broke off from a peerage in search of immoral pleasure. I knew how they usually killed and murdered humans, I knew that they were usually irrational, bigoted, and egoistic, and I knew that some of them even went as far as rape and _cannibalism._

I knew that they completely deserved death for it. I knew all of that.

But letting my brother see it all happen? No. But seeing him _enjoy_ seeing that happen? Most definitely not. The dead God above be-damned, the Issei I knew wouldn't even cut open a live fish! How would the human Issei even stand the sight of a thinking being disintegrated into dust in seconds?

But it was only logical. What use were Reincarnated Devils to their masters if they didn't want to use their strength in battle? What were Sacred Gears when their users didn't want to fight or hurt their enemies? Sure, I knew of would-be-Devils like Asia Argento that didn't/wouldn't fight, but I also knew that was because they were simply unfit for battling itself. It wouldn't have surprised me if worse-comes-to-worst, even she would've hit somebody in the head with all of her devil strength.

But the Devil Piece changed that.

A human _might_ wish for power and get blood-lust that way, but Devils were _racially_ predisposed to. They were _born_ wishing for power. And if the Devil Piece turned humans to Devils, was it a surprise that my brother gained a Devil's disposition for a good battle and strength? Even if I knew Rias wasn't the typical Devil, that didn't change the default settings inside her Pieces.

I turned back to Issei, my brother slowly savoring his favorite pieces of the meal I cooked just for him.

…I couldn't tell him.

I knew my brother didn't notice it yet – maybe the Piece repressed those kind of thoughts, I didn't know, but I was sure my brother didn't notice the changes in his mind just yet. He still hadn't even thought, even for a minute, on what being a Devil turned him into other than being stronger and faster. And I could never tell him.

Cognitive Dissonance.

A state of mind in which your thoughts go into conflicting processes, just like how a person would freeze up in fear just before a car crash. In that case, fear itself stiffened the muscles – a natural response to coming blows in order to reduce damage. But with other instinct to _jump out of the way_, the two mental processes go into conflict, causing that pause that happens just before the crash.

That was a conflict with just two instinctive processes. How about if it was something conscious? What if it was about something as central to a person's character as their perception in the worth of life?

I feared for the mental damage the revelation might wreak in my brother's mind. I knew that like me, Issei consciously told himself in the past that 'murder was bad, and so is killing'. Faced with the revelation of that going against the message _all of his cells and subconscious mind _screamed at him, the message of 'do anything, even murder, for your wants'…

He would start questioning himself. He would start to break down. He would _fall_.

No, I could never tell him. It would break his mind at this stage. Maybe after a few years, when his still-teenage mind finally settles into something more stable, maybe I could slowly ease him into the subject. But at this point, barring dangerous circumstances, I could never tell him.

If anything, I started to even hope that the Piece repressed such thoughts.

But what if there were more things running in the background that I was unaware of? I had to do something, something _more._

That was why the following day, I finally went out of our home for something else other than work for the first time in years – just like what I did that day when I publically revealed myself as HR. Like that day, I had to do something for my brother.

That was why I opened talks with Rias again about a job inside Kuoh Academy.

* * *

As a writer, I had the unrepentant hate/love relationship with the clichés.

They were useful, I admit, and never once had I even made a single story without at least one of them. To put it in words, as there was a limited amount of things in the world, there were only so many unique ideas a human mind can form. One can't simply form an idea from nothing – and that meant that with the _millions_ of people writing about the same universe out there, it was inevitable that the same thing would pop up from time to time between different stories and authors.

To put it simply, clichés made stories and books. It was only how you mixed them up that mattered.

However, the situation I was in _wasn't_ a story. I was a writer in a world I once thought as fictional, so there was reason for my life to be walking example of everything cliché, yes, but there were limits and this was way past that. Thus, it was only reasonable for me to be a little annoyed at the seemingly-cliché situation I fell in.

"Hello, class. My name is Hyoudou Ryuusei. Starting today, I would be your English teacher. Please treat me well."

…How many times?

Just how many times have I read and _wrote _about this situation before? How many times did a 'character-is-introduced-as-teacher-_becuz_-of-reasons~' situation happen in all those books and short stories I've read? In all those mangas? In all those fan-fictions?

I knew it was only logical; I knew that _there were no other options_, as really, one could only get a reasonably influential daily position inside a school by being a teacher or worse, the _principal_, but… really, world? Wasn't there any other way for me to insert myself in the school so I could watch over my brother? Even being a _janitor_ is out of the job selection?

I sighed at the so-far silent response. One. Two. Three-

""EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!""

Promptly removing my hands from covering my ears as they finished shrieking, I gave a short cough to stop them from doing anything worse.

"Yes." I said calmly, giving everyone a smile and pausing for just a second to trade glances with my brother in his seat. He looked particularly pale – I guess I should've told him beforehand. "Your previous teacher, Edo-sensei, had suddenly decided that Literature was the subject for her, so I was hired by the school-board to teach you in her stead."

"Aren't you a little young to be our teacher?" One of the guys commented out loud, much to nods. I had a feeling he appreciated his previous teacher a tad too much, and thus annoyed by my sudden arrival. "How can we be sure that you would teach us correctly? How can we trust that you would be a good sensei?"

One of my brother's few friends – Motohama, if I remembered correctly, nudged to silence him a bit painfully to side. With a yelp, he did so, much to my silent thanks as Issei was fuming at his response. I had no wish for this class to begin with a fight.

"Hyoudou Ryuusei… _Hyoudou?_" One of the girls stood up, giving me and my brother bewildered looks. Oh, there it comes, the question I was dreading… "Sensei, you are Pervert-Issei's brother?"

I held back a twitch at my brother's nickname. I knew his reasons, so I wasn't about to judge him about it. He had even _asked_ me permission about it, so there was no question of his purpose there. And I wasn't about to announce it out loud for the class.

So instead, I gave a blank nod and took out my book – one of my originals, the _English for Idiots _series I started myself.

Japan needed more books like it _badly_ after all.

"Yes. He is my brother. However, don't worry. I will not have any sort of favoritism in this class."

There was much grumbling. I reckoned that was going to last for a while.

Truthfully, I knew that I _didn't_ even need to favor my brother at all. Ever since he became a Devil, my brother was already at my level when it came to speaking English, and his reading of the English book I had in my hand would fix everything else. He could take the finals exam then and there and he would pass with flying colors.

"Wow, you two don't really look alike." Another one of the girls murmured out loud. "You're a lot more handsome than Pervert-Issei."

An awkward silence fell over the class over that, causing her to blush and hide her face. I certainly didn't manage to hide my twitch then.

I sighed, not out loud, but softly as so no one would hear me do so.

…I wasn't really supposed to say this about myself, but I knew what I looked like. Comparisons to my previous incarnation's looks aside, the first thing I recognized growing up and looking at my face in the mirror was of how my genetics made me. Fate had a sense of humor; apparently, there was a surplus of feminine genes in the Hyoudou blood.

To put it simply, I inherited my Mom's looks this time around and became one of the things I feared of ever becoming.

A _bishounen_.

Issei knew I tried, I tried so much to grow even the slightest bit of stubble, to regain a bit of masculine features, to grow the bulk I had in my previous life – but to no avail. I was currently aged twenty, but for some reason puberty decided I wasn't going to get any hint of facial hair this time around, that my height was going to be a bit short, that my hair was straight and smooth, that my build was permanently stuck to 'lean-and-skinny'. Not even any amount of head-desking did the trick – my face was as delicate as a flower as ever.

And as a famous writer, having looks _wasn't a good thing at all_. It only added the amount of potential stalkers I had to hide from.

"…"

I gave another cough. "Alright, please close your books. I'm going to give you all a short quiz instead of what I previously planned."

Everybody stared. Issei, who seemed to have recovered, had apparently abandoned all sense of shock and held back a snigger.

I raised a brow. "Well? Are you people going to do anything?"

There was a rush of movement, and a few seconds later, everyone was looking at the board and seeing the poster I stuck over it.

"Everyone, once I call your name, would you please pronounce these words on the board? One at a time, please."

* * *

An entire class period later, I basically stuffed all of my teaching materials into the bag as I was about to leave. I wasn't in the mood for arranging them today.

To put it simply, the impromptu quiz was a _fiasco._

Nobody got it perfect. The ones who managed to pronounce the word I had for them _adequately_ could be easily counted with one hand. Issei was among that list – not that I wasn't sure he _could_, but he simply _didn't_ want to. He spent years working on his image after all, and all it took was a single counter-example against the image of 'Pervert Issei' before that front shattered.

I gave a loud sigh at that. I didn't want him to have to become 'Pervert Issei', but it was his wish so I didn't argue.

"Sensei…?" A feminine voice cut through my thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Turning away from my things, I put on my best smile and replied, "Yes, I'm just fine. Just a bit stressed – it's just my first time teaching after all."

As my eyes locked on the person calling me, a blush flooded over her cheeks. Oh dear.

She was named, if I recalled correctly, Kiryuu Aika-san. My first expression of her was a very shy and silent girl, which was kind of strange as several other (male) teachers had told me to explicitly _stay far away_ from her the moment they saw my face. I wondered why – honestly, she looked very homely as far as I've seen, and her glasses just further solidified that image.

Suddenly, as she solidified her stare all over me, a shiver went down my spine and alarms rang in my mind.

…This girl, she's dangerous! And not in a way I could possibly defend against!

"Sensei, I would like to ask something…" She murmured, her voice seemingly shy. I wasn't fooled again this time – if there was someone to be called a wolf in sheep's clothing, it was this girl. "It is about yourself as a person…"

I unconsciously took a step back, sweat already rolling down the back of my neck. I searched for escape routes – none, no doubt planned by her. All doors and windows were either closed or with her in the way.

"Yes, what about me?"

Kiryuu-san blinked slowly before a smile slowly lifted her face. It was terrifying to look at. "Sensei, are you HR?"

I froze in place like a cornered mouse.

It was a question that I had expected someone to ask before, but somehow throughout the entire day I had evaded it. It helped that my brother's image defended me as well – nobody expected a pervert to have a famous brother after all. Not to mention, with the reducing amount of book readers in the Japanese population, even the famous HR had a chance to escape his fans, _right_?

But this girl… she was someone who easily saw through that. There was only one reason as to why that could be done.

"Ahahaha…" I tried to make a sheepish laugh – but to no avail, as I was simply too unsettled to do so. "What are you talking about?"

Her smile, the innocent-only-if-you-looked-at-it-from-miles-away smile, morphed into something more dangerous. More predatory. More _sultry_. I took another step back, and her lips went up a bit more in return.

"Sensei…" Kiryuu-san's eyes flashed, a predatory gleam going into them. "HR-sensei is, as I've heard, a very _shy_ person and it is rare that pictures of him go into circulation. But I won't forget that scene all those years ago. Issei might have managed to hide it from everyone else, but not me."

She stepped forward. "Isn't that right, HR-sensei? You're showing that shyness I've heard about. Where did that daring of yours that you used against Issei's bullies all those years ago go?"

I froze again.

So she was someone from Issei's previous middle-school?

"Alright, you've got me, Kiryuu-san." I raised my hands up in defense. "I'm HR. Now would you-"

"-step back?" She silkily cut off what I was going to say. Her smile practically glittered as she continued to advance. "Sensei, why do you have to say that to your first fan? Come on… I even made that fan-club just for you…"

My mind screamed, '_She made that horrible, terrifying, stalking fan-club!'_

It only made me step back even faster, causing her to even laugh.

Kiryuu-san gave me one last predatory smile. Her glasses somehow reflected light from god-knows-where. "You're really Issei's brother aren't you? All that front of being the tough guy, then being shy in front of girls."

Her comment was like a bucket of cold water all over me. Somehow, I found the strength and courage to move, to go against this tide of feminine force, to fight against this black panther gazing upon me like a rabbit. I was Issei's brother! I was HR! I was not about to run like a mouse in front of this-

"I_ like_ that_. _It sounds_ so kinky._"

And then I took another step back again.

This one-sided stand-off continued, my senses of it distorting into what was seemingly kilometers and hours before I found my back hitting the wall behind me a bit painfully. I was scared for my life and sanity. Hyoudou Ryuusei had trained to fight against human enemies like thugs and the like, maybe even devils and angels.

I wasn't prepared to fight against a _girl_ of questionable interests, not after all those years of isolation from the public!

Thankfully, salvation came in the form of three male teenagers.

"Nii-san!"

Issei. You don't know now, but you just saved my life. You would get the game console you wanted so much for this.

"Ryuusei-san!" His two loyal friends, Matsuda and Motohama, appeared by my side. "We're here to save you from this vile woman!"

Issei himself was in front of me, his arms raised protectively over me and a glare on his face aimed at the woman in front of us.

"Kiryuu, I did as I promised. I made Nii-san sign all those books. Now, get away from him." Issei said without fear. I felt really proud really. The dead God above, or wherever he was – thank you for making sure he grew up well, even if he was a Devil now. "Or else, I won't hand them over to you."

Kiryuu-san tch-ed. "I remember promising to make the _fan-club_ go away, not _myself_, Issei."

"He's my brother." Issei growled. "I won't let you have him."

A period of time – minutes or seconds, I didn't know – passed, full of tension. Then, as suddenly as it came, the tension faded away as the female in front of us sighed and reaffixed her glasses. The image of the shy girl was completely gone now, but I had an idea that this was what she was really like.

"Issei…" Kiryuu gave him a fond smile. "So you really won't back down on this?"

His arms down, he said, stiffly. "Yes. I would never."

"You would really go that far for your brother, huh?" She sighed again. "Alright. I'm out. I won't ever try this again. Just give the books and I'll keep my side of the bargain."

Beside me, Motohama and Matsuda gave a loud cheer. I almost did so myself before I remembered about my image.

"But…" Her eyes wandered all over us again, causing us to shiver in the same time. A smirk formed on her face. "You really are brothers, huh? To even have around the same size… too bad you two are too shy around girls – any girl would be downright _satisfied_ with those packages you have!"

I felt the sudden urge to hide the lower parts of my body. Issei seemed the same, but he kept his protective stance in front of me. Matsuda and Motohama actually covered theirs.

"It's outside, Kiryuu."

She gave us one last smile before she left. The moment she did, we all collapsed to the ground.

Let it be said that the feminine part of humanity was something to be feared.

But then, the next day, I realized that we should have made her keep my identity secret.

For when the very famous, apparently good-looking, author of the century turned out to be your new English teacher, there was little to be told about how students and faculty alike would publicly _riot_ when said author used to refuse the glare of the spotlights.

* * *

Little did I know then, Rias had watched me with a smile, her mind going on tangents I should've realized before everything went to hell.

Little did I know then, that my actions were the beginning of a single cascade that drastically changed the situation from what I knew.

Little did I _think_ then about what a single undefeated Fallen Angel could do to start a disaster after one was averted.

* * *

**AN: Alright, as promised, second chapter coming up, served piping hot for consumption.**

**This is the Sixth Deconstruction, and it's a huge red flag that I had with the series and most fanfictions as a whole. It's what I call the dilemma of the 'New Adventurer'. Dozens of stories alike suffer from this problem, wherein male and female characters alike manage to _kill_ people with no problem the moment they get handed with a weapon, no matter the fact that most people have a slight, eensy, teensy problem.**

**People. Normally. Don't. Kill. Other. People.**

**Don't get me wrong – character death is a staple for all stories, and just because some people are main characters does not mean that they can't kill other people. It's just that like all rational people, they have to get an equally rational justification before they could just swing a sword and decapitate someone's neck. Especially if said character came from modern society, like Issei and Ryuusei.**

**Expect this to be a plot point in the future. A _very _important plot point.**

**And - I have to add - Ryuusei's dying will is so far just a symbol of how much he's preparing for everything. He certainly _won't_ plan to go out ala-Itachi style, because Issei is protective backwards that way. It's just that Ryuusei is aware of the dangers of being Issei's brother; enough to prepare for it just in case as well.**

**...Kiryuu is surprisingly amusing to write. I apologize for anyone who doesn't appreciate the humor though.**


	7. Seventh Deconstruction

**Chapter 7: Seventh Deconstruction.**

_"When you put yourself in your character's shoes, always remember this: 'Anything that could go wrong would one day go wrong.'"_

"Where is he!?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm supposed to be asking! Where are you hiding HR-sensei!?"

"That's our line!"

I held my breath, terrified and afraid as I tried to keep quiet over one of the school's support beams in the ceiling. Inwardly, I thanked the architect who made the building; without all these spaces over everyone's heads, I would've been caught much earlier.

Good thing nobody made the point of looking up.

"…Hyoudou-san."

I nearly fell off in surprise before I recovered my balance and turned to whoever found me. If it was yet another fan or overly excited teacher… maybe I'll cry in the corner. That way, people would stop following me, right?

But thankfully, instead of what I feared, the person calling me was none other than a certain blond bishounen that I knew from another life.

"Hyoudou-san, Buchou had told us to collect you." Yuuto Kiba smiled at me as he sat over the opposite half of the beam I was sitting on. He then turned to the girls below the both of us and shook his head as he held out a hand. "Here, I know all the ways around the school on how to evade them all and reach the clubroom in time."

I almost gave out in relief as I heard his words. That was right, Kiba was overly popular with the female population himself, right?

I took the offered hand as I stood on the beam. "Thanks, I appreciate the help."

Too bad that that movement seemed to be just what the people below us needed to finally notice the two males clasping each other's hands over their heads.

The rumor of the Hyoudou x Kiba x Hyoudou love triangle was all over the school before the day even ended.

* * *

"Of course! I'll do anything to get a touch of Buchou's breasts!"

Hearing the voice of my brother utter those words as I neared the old building where the Occult Research Club resided, my heart fell.

So even in the presence of his new allies, he still kept on the act?

Kiba, apparently having seen my emotions through my face, misunderstood my reasons as shame. "Is it difficult? Having a pervert for a brother?"

I shook my head, holding back the urge to glare at the teenager who had just helped me. "No. Pervert or not, Issei is my brother and I would accept all of his faults and good points without argument. It's just that I'm a bit sad that even you people still fail to see who he really is."

The fact that Issei still pretended to be a pervert was resounding proof for my statement.

Kiba seemed to have questions, but he didn't voice them. Instead, he simply nodded before knocking on the door that alone separated us from the rest of the Occult Research Club. Seconds later, the door was opened from the inside, letting me have a full view of what was happening within.

Besides the white flash of hair that I knew was Toujou Koneko, the streak of red that I was now slightly familiar with was at the center of the room. Rias Gremory stood, arms crossed beneath her bountiful chest, as she leaned over a teleportation circle. Standing beside her with a reassuring smile on her face was her Queen, the secretly sadomasochistic Himejima Akeno.

And within the circle was no one other than my brother Hyoudou Issei as he saluted with a perverted grin on his face.

I heaved a sigh. The sound caught everyone's attention, including my brother's, whose expression fell with a dash of horror. His mouth opened to say something.

The circle glowed, and he disappeared.

"Ara, it seems a bit of bad luck for Hyoudou-kun to miss his brother now." The former priestess of a Queen gave me a smile, no doubt enjoying the look on my brother's face as he was forced to leave. "Now we have to talk to the famous HR-sensei all alone!"

"I won't even deign that with a response."

I could only shook my head at the antics of devils and the thoughts of whether my brother would pick up these tactics in the future. Instead, I sought out the nearest sofa I could sit on, trying to ignore the rather gregarious finery around me as I did. I might own riches, but I was never going to let myself get used to them. That way led madness.

The moment I sat down, the feeling of being in front of a judge and awaiting for verdict suddenly rushed me.

"It was nice for you to come here." Rias sat down on the sofa opposite of me, a wry smile on her lips. "I'm sorry for the forceful depart of our dear little Issei – we can't have him trying to prevent us from talking to you now, could we?"

I returned the expression. "I apologize. It seems the habit of keeping me secret is still ongoing for him. Even in class, he never spoke once about me personally, even when his classmates asked him to explain."

"My, our dear pawn has a protective side!" Akeno praised from the side, sending me a wink. "Himejima Akeno, in your service. Has Hyoudou-kun been telling you information about me? You seem a bit unsurprised by my tactics."

As Kiba held out a cup of tea for me, I hid my smile as I drank. "Let's just say you are a very unforgettable person, Himejima-san."

"Oh please, call me Akeno."

"Very well."

Rias watched as with amusement. "As much as it pleases me to see that two of you get along, it would be well if we get on with the rest of the introductions. As I suppose you already have been introduced to Kiba over here," Kiba nodded in agreement, "so it would be Koneko's turn."

The petite white-haired girl gave me a bow. "Toujou Koneko."

I bowed, reminding myself that as much as I knew about the people in front of me, they didn't know me as well. "Pleasure to meet you. Should I call you Toujou-san?"

"Koneko." Straight to the point, as I expected. Koneko then raised her head, asking me a simple question. "Are you a pervert?" _Like Issei?_

I held back the urge to laugh. After all, as much as Issei pretended to be one, he was most certainly _not_ a pervert. Or at least, more than what any teenager would be to those who really knew him. "No, I suppose I am not."

"It's true!" Akeno added from her side. A familiar book was in her hand – 'The Nurarhiyon's Grandson,' wasn't it interesting that she chose that book out of all things? – before placing it near her lips as if it was her personal treasure. "Even with many books HR-sensei had written, not a single one of them held any sexual themes. It's a matter of principle, he says."

I spotted the signature on the front that I had just written the other day. Now, I suppose it was either her or that frightening girl Kiryuu who had convinced my brother to make me sign all those books.

"And it is also a matter of pride." I replied, taking another sip of my tea. "I had been writing since childhood after all."

And that was the crux of the matter wasn't it?

Forget how the hell I found out about my brother's gear before it was even activated. Forget how I knew of the Devil Piece system before I even met a devil. Forget how I knew and could detect the supernatural from far away if I took the moment to focus. Each of those were important, yes, but there were far more important things.

How did I manage to get this far, this high, while knowing the supernatural world and not get struck down for it?

And why had I chosen now of all times to contact the Devil society?

"Imagine our surprise when Akeno found out that you have past dealings with the Youkai." Rias started the talk that would change what would happen in the future. "Imagine the looks on our face when we found out that alone, just with the words you wrote, new Youkai were born into existence. To think of it, how did you even know that there was a supernatural world out there?"

"I am supernaturally sensitive." No lies, only half-truths. "I have known since I was a child."

Akeno hummed beside her King. "I suppose you could tell me what you could sense about me then? If only to prove those abilities?"

I nodded, closing my eyes. As much as I knew about her history, of what and who she was, I still felt the urge to feel the power of a half-Fallen, half-Devil myself. Dropping into a meditation state, the world around me flickered into darkness before it was filled with light.

There were four beacons with me in this room. There were several more in the distance, in what I supposed was the Student Council Room where Sona Sitri and her peerage resided, but I ignored them for the moment as to focus on those closer to me. Words slipped out of my lips as I judged and tried to describe what I felt.

"Light tainted by darkness… Humanity covered in painted white, sparking lightning colored by the black of the Devil. Red, like blood rubies, accompanied by hurt, pain, suffering… yet even as acceptance and denial existed, family lost and family gained. Paired wings, mismatched and changed, hoping for reassurance and acceptance, only to be turned away. And Gremory, Rias Gremory in the center."

I didn't know the words I was saying until I finished, opening my eyes only to see the shocked faces of the Devils around me.

None more so than Akeno, who had such a pained look in her eyes that I couldn't help but mutter-

"I apologize." I bowed my head sincerely. "I didn't mean to do so."

I was so lost in the deep trance that I failed to see, failed to recognize the sadness that was now coiling around her, as I poked too far and damaged old scars that had hidden behind painful memories. It would be crucial that I would learn to control that, but for now, it was time for me to apologize for the pain I had called out from her.

There was a silence before she recovered, a wistful smile on her lips. "…Do not worry. It was my request after all."

Rias, who had seemed to have recovered just as well, had her hand pinching the bridge of her nose, as if trying to hold back a headache.

"I see that we should not ask that in the future." The Gremory announced, sending looks over her just-as-unsettled other Pieces. "Isn't that right, Kiba, Koneko?"

The two of them looked like somebody slapped them. Kiba was deadly pale, as was Koneko who was even shivering a bit. It was then that I recognized that it wasn't Akeno alone who had matched what I had just said. The same way Akeno lost her mother, Kiba lost his childhood friends and Koneko lost her sister.

_Hurt, pain, suffering… even as acceptance and denial existed, family lost and family gained._

"Y-you're right, Buchou." Kiba gasped out a breath. "It wouldn't be nice to remember those thoughts too far again."

Koneko nodded solemnly.

"So there is nothing to disprove about your words." Nobody piped up to follow up Rias' words – they were still too emotionally hit to speak. However, as if just as hurt by the pain her Peerage felt, Rias strove on – far more seriously this time. "May I ask now as to why you chose us Gremory, out of all things, to protect your brother then?"

"Issei might not ask you out of his sheer trust, but I don't have such compulsions. Tell me, why us Devils when there are other choices out there, like the Church, the Angels, or the Youkai?"

Her Peerage froze from her words.

Why would she ask that, in front of her Peerage that was one by one scarred by those she just spoke of, I didn't know. However, this time unlike how unprepared I was to answer Issei when he was the one who asked, I immediately had a reply.

"I have reason to believe that there are Fallen Angels in Kuoh City as of now that would target my brother unless I did something. Along with several Exorcists, some may or may not be exiled. Thus, I have no trust in the first two." Again, I told no lies. However, given my very real ability to sense supernatural beings and their thoughts, as I had just shown, there was no need to justify myself this time. "And as much as the Youkai have supported me in the past, their protection is not enough. Your presence here was just what I needed."

Rias stiffened in her seat, probably surprised by my statement. "I see… then I should change the question. Why _me_?"

I gave her a smile, as sad as it was that it needed to be told. "For the same reasons I can't trust them, I could trust _you_. You might not know about me, but I know of you, and of how you helped those who needed it."

Essentially, I confessed that I emotionally manipulated her, but I hoped she would accept it as a compliment.

As much as I lied, I didn't like to lie to the people in front of me.

As much as I acted to be someone I was not, I didn't want them to ever think that I was hiding something from them, even if it was true.

Because they would be the ones who would be around my brother. Because if it ever came to be that I _went away_, at least Issei would have them. Because if it ever came to be that _my_ family was in danger, they would be the only ones that would be willing to help.

Silence reigned the room.

Kiba was the first one to break it, with none other than a refreshed smile on his face as he turned to his King.

"Buchou, looks like you don't have to worry about the two of them." Them being me and Issei. "They really don't mean any harm to us, nor do they really want to manipulate this club."

Akeno chuckled at her side. "Nufufufu… I can't believe the HR-sensei is really like this…"

Koneko even sent the small, almost unnoticeable, curve of her lips that was her version of a smile at my direction.

I couldn't help but gape.

Rias gave out a sigh as she gazed at my surprised expression at their blasé acceptance. But she herself had her lips curled up, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at me.

"I'm sorry for the interrogation but-" She shook her head, as if remembering a memory. "My friend, Sona, had been a tad worried when she found out about the deal we had the other week. Not to mention, the familial loyalty and affection Issei holds for you is so strong that even _I_ felt a little out of place. Never before had I been King to a Piece who placed someone else as a priority before after all."

I blinked at her last statement. Issei… had actually voiced concern about me?

"'_Tad worried_' isn't what I would use for it, Rias." Akeno teased, all tension away from her already. "I would instead call it exasperated, stupefied, irritated, bemused, incensed, and hot and bothered. After all, why would she not be all that when her dear childhood friend suddenly starts associating with a well-known pervert like Issei~"

"Ignore her please." Rias twitched as she did just what she said. Her eyes softened at me. "But you didn't lie to us. We may be devils, but you still told us the truth, instead of what other humans would usually do in this kind of situation. In fact, if you had just _asked_ instead of making a contract in the beginning, I would've still done the same."

…So, I had worried too much?

Still with the serene smile on her face, Rias rose from her seat and walked towards me. Her Peerage stayed in their positions, calm and unworried as their master… no, Buchou came close to a virtual stranger.

"I'd like to say this now, Ryuusei-san." She murmured, her eyes twinkling as she looked at me. "Finally, welcome to the Occult Research Club."

And starting that day, I became the club's advisor. Issei was torn between celebrating and disapproving when he found out.

* * *

It had been weeks now, since I first entered Kuoh Academy as part of its faculty.

It had been… interesting- no, scratch that, it was a lot of '-ing's. It was stupefying, it was hair-raising, hair-pulling, heck one could even say that it was depressing, but somehow I managed to survive as a famous writer inside a _school_ filled with fans of both genders.

Never before had I climbed so many support beams in my life though. It was practically a new exercise at this point.

"Hyoudou-sensei, good job for today."

Turning my head with a smile, I gave a thankful nod at the speaker. "To you as well, Koyomi-sensei."

Koyomi-sensei was a fellow teacher like I was, also specializing in English but for those in the higher sections. She was a very impressive woman, with a no-nonsense approach to life and apparently a dream of one day starting a family of her own. In the beginning, she was one of the vocal minority that expressed disagreement at my sudden entry into the school, but after a while she had taken it to herself to watch over me and teach me how to be a _proper_ teacher.

"Oh no, there's no need to praise me, Hyoudou-sensei." She gave me a fond smile – we really had gotten closer over the past days. "Unlike you, I still make a few errors in grammar, even as a teacher. To be honest, you are enviable that way."

I grinned easily at her. "Well, at least that means I can teach you there, right? After all, it's only right I teach you in return for telling me all those tips on how to make those kids listen up instead of just staring at me."

She shook her head warmly. "Only you would be that appreciative for such a minor thing. Plus, with the help you bring when it comes to you brother…"

I tilted my head at her words. "What is this about Issei again?"

Koyomi-sensei opened her mouth to say something, before pausing as no words came out.

"About that… Hyoudou-sensei, you may not know this, but your brother has a certain… reputation in this school. Your presence here has simply reduced that." She looked like she had swallowed something sour. "In fact, that was part of the reason I was so adamant at preventing you here at first, because Hyoudou Issei is infamous for-"

"Being a huge pervert?" I finished for her, much to her surprise. I then nodded. "Yes, I do know that. My students called him Pervert-Issei when they first met me after all."

"…And you don't have any problem with it?"

I knew why Koyomi-sensei asked that. If I had known that Issei was infamous as a pervert, why hadn't I done anything? In fact, if Issei had grown to be a pervert, wouldn't that say something about me, being the one who practically raised him since we were kids?

That is, if what they were saying about Issei being a pervert was true.

"I do have a problem with perversion." I stated, causing her to sigh in relief. "It is just that… Issei isn't really what people think he is in this school."

Koyomi-sensei looked dubious, but still nodded. "Do tell then."

I started with a question. "Tell me, does Issei participate in perverted acts in this school?"

The reply was immediate. I had a feeling Koyomi-sensei was a victim herself once in the past – maybe the Perverted Trio peeked into the girl's bathroom while she was there?

"Yes. He most certainly did."

I clicked my tongue. "Really? Are you sure that Issei himself has participated? Has he peeked himself into locker rooms? Has he brought along any unsavory magazines in class? Has he actually discussed any perverted subjects in public, outside of the odd 'I will become Harem King' and 'I love Oppai' sentences that he screams once in a while?"

Koyomi-sensei blinked, visibly recalling her own memory. Slowly, but surely, it clicked in her mind. Probably, images of those _incidents_ popped up, where Matsuda and Motohama did their activities… with Issei just sitting behind them. "No… honestly, Hyoudou-kun hasn't done anything of that sort. But I did see him once carry home one of those ero magazines though!"

"None of it reaches our house." I answered quickly. "I would know – I'm the one who cleans the entirety of it after all. Motohama-san, though, his house is at our direction."

"T-Then… _why_?" She asked, reasonably confused. "Why would your brother even make himself out to be a pervert, then?"

The answer for that was simple. A rueful smile was on my face when I pointed at the reason – myself.

"Koyomi-sensei, remember. I am HR. And I know Issei is rather ridiculously protective of me."

And with that, it clicked again in her mind. "…Oh."

Yes… The same way I was thankful for Motohama and Matsuda's friendship with my brother, Issei was thankful of them. But instead of thinking about himself, he thought about _me._

Issei's funny antics about me and my fanclub aside, he knew how much it discomforted me to be basking in so much attention. It was different when I actively sought for it – Issei trusted my decisions no matter what after all – but when I myself didn't want to be the center of the attention… well, Issei made sure that there was no chance of the spotlight landing on me. Even if it meant making it difficult to himself.

'Hyoudou Issei being recognized as HR's brother?' Issei responded to that by making himself so outrageously unlike what people would think 'HR's brother' would be, all in order so people won't connect him to me, and reach me in the process.

Issei had dirtied, lambasted, and condemned himself to other people just so I could have a relatively private life.

I hadn't liked it first, but… Issei had that determined look in his eyes when he told me about it. There was no way I could say no then.

_Strange brothers, we are really…_

"As for the other two, Motohama-san and Matsuda-san," I continued, as if talking about the weather, "I think I can somehow convince them to lay it down a bit. I can't really say I can rehabilitate them per-se… but at least, I think I can make them subtler when it comes to their hobbies. If needs come to worst, I could always resort to bribery."

Read: bribing them with porn to stop them from bringing and peeking porn into school. Strange, but I knew it could work.

Koyomi-sensei nodded slowly. "I see…" I had a feeling she really wasn't. "Then why are you telling me this then? If Issei is really doing this for your sake, then why are you unraveling this now?"

My reply to that was to place my face close to hers as I smiled. "It's to finally tell him he doesn't need to pretend anymore. Koyomi-sensei, you would help me on that matter, right?"

Her face was red, but… "O-Of course!"

"Thank you." I pulled away, allowing her to breathe. It felt a bit bad, using her for this, but… Issei was still the person I prioritized. Plus, I knew she had developed a bit of a crush on me some time ago already. "But for now, I have to go."

"G-Go?" Koyomi-sensei stuttered before visibly calming herself. "I mean, are you in a hurry?"

"Yes," I answered gravely, already packing the bag I had in mind. "There is a place that needs me _now_."

After all, around one of my right hand's fingers, a single band of metal went cold. Very, very cold.

My brother was in deep trouble. And he needed me to be there.

There was simply no time to rest.

* * *

_"Hey Nii-san, Merry Christmas!"_

_Issei jumped up and down cheerfully, waking me up with a smile. I couldn't help but return it – his expression was plenty infectious._

_"All right, all right, I'm up." I settled him down with a rubdown of his hair. "Did we forget to prepare for this year?"_

_"Nope!" My brother grinned, taking a few steps back before spinning several times in joy. "We did that yesterday morning – today, we're just going to enjoy Christmas!"_

_"That's what happens when we live in a house of two, huh." I ended up mumbling to myself. I was still pretty surprised at the neatness of the house – and utter ease in managing it. I was naturally a clean person, and it seemed Issei picked that up from me as well._

_The orphanage wasn't like… this. It didn't feel like home, especially at Christmas._

_"Hurry, hurry!" Issei cheered, already under our admittedly small Christmas tree. "Let's open the presents already!"_

_I immediately ran up to him. I wanted to see his expression when he finally opened his gift after all._

_Christmas in the Hyoudou home was never happy. We didn't have Mom and Dad whenever the day came, and until recently, we didn't have the money. But I was a successful writer now. I could finally give my brother a taste of a real Christmas. Not just the taste of a store-bought cake for a dreary holiday, but the feel of how it felt back then when Mom was still awake._

_And… today was also a special day for another reason my brother never seemed to comprehend._

_"Hohohoho!" I gave my best Santa Claus laugh – like Dad used to – in my red suit and fake mustache. Issei smiled under his Santa hat. "Now, little boy, here's your gifts!"_

_"Nii-san, I'm not a kid anymore, really…" Issei grumbled goodheartedly, but the smile was still on his face when he received his first present ever from family. "But anyways, I have a gift for you too!"_

_Unlike my rather large set of presents, Issei gave me a small shoddily gift-wrapped box with a shy look. "Sorry if I couldn't do much…"_

_"Who are you kidding?" I broke out of the 'Santa' character and gave him a grand hug. "This is enough for me!"_

_To think that my brother had saved up for giving me a gift too… I already knew I would love it even before I opened the package._

_Issei stiffened at the sudden reaction before empathetically leaning into it. Minutes later, he gave a hesitant smile. "Let's open the gifts?"_

_I nodded seriously, causing him to laugh._

_…_

_"Nii-san, this is…" Issei looked at the book I gave him with an almost reverent look. "I love this!"_

_"Good to know." I said to him over the amount of candies and clothes I gave him – a little proud too that it was the book he had gushed over, not the toys, not the cool clothes, not the food, but my original book. "There's only one copy of that – I was the one to hardbound it myself."_

_It was the same book I had recently published, the story I had based over our lives, based on my hopes and dreams. The Mind of A 'Genius' and Those Around Him. It was the story of a reincarnated boy who did his best to become a doctor and save lives in his newfound life in King Arthur's court. It wasn't exactly close to my own story, but my emotions were on every page._

_It ended on a happy note. I just hoped reality would do the same._

_And in Issei's hands was the one and only Japanese version of it, with all the names replaced to match - especially the main character, whose name became Hyoudou Issei._

_But his excitement over reading it over and over was nothing to the sheer joy I had over my brother's one gift._

_"Nii-san… I'm sorry if it wasn't much…"_

_"Don't worry, I love it!" I simply jumped over to hug my brother again. "What made you decide to give this to me?"_

_Issei blushed at the praise. "I just… wanted to give you something to make you remember me."_

_"You have yours, right?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"Then wear it. All the time. I would too. Now, show me yours."_

_The moment Issei raised his right hand, I did the same, putting them side-by-side. On our ring fingers were matching rings – not the engagement kind of course, but with a meaning just as strong. Around my finger was a blue-banded ring of stainless steel, and on his was a red-banded matching one._

_Mine read, "Hyoudou Ryuusei – A Brother." His read, "Hyoudou Issei – His Brother."_

_They were only trinkets anybody could buy with a few hundred yen, but to us they were priceless in both meanings._

_"This means, we won't ever forget each other." I vowed. Issei nodded. "This means that we won't leave each other behind, that we would do everything for the other until we die."_

_The moment passed, and then I jumped up from my seat to get something I hid in the kitchen._

_"Nii-san, what's that?"_

_I announced, "It's a celebratory cake!"_

_"Woohoo!" He cheered. "I love cake!"_

_Taking out the box containing the cake I baked myself and placing it over the counter, I turned to my brother before opening it up. Doing so, I revealed a large, simple white chocolate cake with a large numbered candle in front. **10**, it proclaimed as it stood over the middle of the cake, with a small caption below it._

_"Happy tenth birthday, Issei." I murmured sadly, pulling him even closer to kiss him on the forehead. "Sorry that Mom and Dad still aren't back this year."_

_Issei froze at my words for a few seconds before he sagged. A small sad smile was on his lips. He almost seemed a few years older._

_"Don't worry, Nii-san. I'm just alright with you here."_

_And then that night, there was a small party in the still-small Hyoudou home, and then we watched as diamond dust once again beautified our winter. _

* * *

**AN: Alright, that's the seventh chapter. And it's a bit shorter than the previous two.**

**The Seventh Deconstruction is an aversion of what usually happens in Mary Sue/Gary Stu stories relating the Occult Research Club. For some reason, OCs are randomly and unreasonably accepted into the Club without worry or aversion from the members – some of which have some very reasonable grounds to _not_ just accept that easily.**

**Though, so far Ryuusei has only been accepted by Rias and the Occult Research Club _as a whole_. Everyone else, like Kiba or Koneko, would only do so personally later on. At this point, they are only following Rias' wishes. And as for the subject of Issei… well, he is different from canon here as well. He won't just accept the ORC that easily too. He has his own goals, and it's not like his canon counterpart's 'I want to be the Harem King' dream this time.**

**Kind of ironic though, now that this Issei would easily fit in with the rest of ORC with his kind of past…**

**Anyway, the last scene is a snippet from the first proper Christmas in the Hyoudou household after Issei was born. The reason as to why it isn't in a omake section – something I'm thinking of – is that it's actually very important to the plot. Please, remember this scene.**

**Personally, I haven't found any detail over the web as to _when_ was Issei's birthday, but let's just assume for this world that Issei was born on December 25. Additional information though – Ryuusei's own birthday is March 28, four years before Issei was born.**

**This is the last pre-written chapter. At this point, expect at least a full-week wait before the next update. But for now; review and reply, tell me your reactions.  
**


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